this post was submitted on 10 Aug 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

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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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This is a toilet thought, please ban me mods.

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[–] mlg@lemmy.world 4 points 1 day ago

This is a toilet thought, please ban me mods.

[–] EightBitBlood@lemmy.world 20 points 1 day ago (10 children)

Not a urologist, but I've got a bladder issue that has given me insight on this topic that I've discussed with several urologists.

In short: yes, penis havers piss slightly faster than non-penis havers. But only on average.

All sexes have a urethra, the tube in which pee comes out of, penises just contain a few extra centimeters of urethra on average, compared to non-penis havers.

These extra centimeters, on average, allow the piss to naturally "cycle" around the urethra a bit more, leading to a naturally higher velocity on exit.

To answer your question, there is a device that measures the flow rate of a stream of urine. This device is placed into a toilet, looks like a portable fan, and is pee'd on to determine the strength and speed of your flow over time.

It's used by urologists to determine if you're peeing good or bad, but 100% generates accurate information on the velocity / speed of your piss.

Not intentionally, but I did very well on one of these tests, literally pissing "off the charts" which lead to several conversations with my urologist on who the best pissers out there are. (Horses, Swimmers, Etc). Eventually confirming that men do (on average) pee faster.

[–] partofthevoice@lemmy.zip 5 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (1 children)

Sounds like way more than a few centimeters. ✋

[–] bhamlin@lemmy.world 1 points 1 day ago (1 children)

He has dozens of them! Dozens!!!

[–] davidagain@lemmy.world 3 points 23 hours ago

Two dozen centimetres is nearly 9.5 inches.

[–] zalgotext@sh.itjust.works 5 points 1 day ago (1 children)

So what you're saying is that penis-havers have a rifled urethra, which contributes to higher muzzle velocity and accuracy, as well as the spiral shape of the stream?

[–] EightBitBlood@lemmy.world 4 points 1 day ago

Technically, yes, haha

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Finally, a proper shower thought!

[–] AbouBenAdhem@lemmy.world 43 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (1 children)

The velocity is proportional to bladder pressure and inversely proportional to the square of the diameter of the urethra. The shape of the body parts outside the urethra is irrelevant.

[–] Fleur_@aussie.zone 9 points 2 days ago (6 children)

This isn't true because I can squeeze the tip of my foreskin and the pee will start spraying everywhere super fast. Similar to covering the end of a hose with my thumb.

[–] LurkingLuddite@piefed.social 20 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (4 children)

Similar to the hose, your feeble attempts at restriction only make the stream stronger.

There is a fundamental pressure being restricted. IF she has a bigger urethra than you, she'll wreck you. If she has a narrow urethra, she might be in the same support group as Hank Hill.

Either way, the fundamental limit of how much pee can flow will always follow a basic function.

I used to think that women had larger urethras than men because female catheters are larger. A post similar to this one caused me to do a bit of reading though. Women's urethras are actually a little smaller on average. They can use larger stiffer catheters because their urethras are much shorter and almost straight. Men's catheters have to be narrower because they have to be flexible to go through men's longer curvier urethras.

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[–] AbouBenAdhem@lemmy.world 11 points 2 days ago (10 children)

Because of the inverse relationship between velocity and diameter.

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[–] remon@ani.social 4 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (1 children)

Yes, partially covering the opening will increase flow speed, but it doesn't matter how long the hose was before you covered it, so no penis is required to achieve that.

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[–] mufkin@lemmy.zip 12 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (2 children)

I’m going to just say this. I hear my wife pee sometimes and it sounds like a water faucet. She has me beat at least.

[–] oppy1984 1 points 23 hours ago

Yep, my now ex-gf would regularly come into the bathroom to pee while I was in getting ready. I knew what mine sounded like and she definitely always had more force behind her stream.

[–] Nomad@infosec.pub 4 points 1 day ago

Same here. she also finishes way faster, so assuming equally sized bladders it would follow that her flow is much stronger.

[–] tiny_hedgehog@piefed.social 13 points 2 days ago (1 children)
[–] Fleur_@aussie.zone 7 points 2 days ago

Unlike you heretic, my back shots are smoothbore. Guided by God.

[–] psx_crab@lemmy.zip 14 points 2 days ago (5 children)

Likely slower due to the friction the fluid have to go through the length of the barrel. The benefit however is the accuracy it has and lower in decibel, as it act as an aiming device and a suppresor.

[–] Fleur_@aussie.zone 4 points 2 days ago (1 children)

I like this theory, diverting more funding to your research doctor

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[–] Rappe@sopuli.xyz 6 points 2 days ago (9 children)

Now I'm sitting here wishing I had rifling in my barrel so the pee would come out spiraling like those nozzles on some power washers.

[–] FishFace@piefed.social 5 points 2 days ago (1 children)

but the individual particles in the stream are going to follow a ballistic, not spiralling trajectory. I think the spiral nozzles have to rotate; they can't just be rifled.

[–] Rappe@sopuli.xyz 1 points 1 day ago

I think they have a ball bearing on a groove, so the water pressure rolls it around in a spiral.

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[–] ArgumentativeMonotheist@lemmy.world 4 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Time to harass my wife and compare speeds based on the sound of our pee streams. ✌️

[–] Fleur_@aussie.zone 8 points 2 days ago

Caution advised, I have just received a theory from one of your scholarly peers that a phallus may act as a scilencer thus making your method ineffectual. Perhaps pee upwards at a 45 degree angle and then measure the height of each stream to derive velocity?

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