this post was submitted on 06 Jan 2025
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Memes

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A meme is an idea, behavior, or style that spreads by means of imitation from person to person within a culture and often carries symbolic meaning representing a particular phenomenon or theme.

An Internet meme or meme, is a cultural item that is spread via the Internet, often through social media platforms. The name is by the concept of memes proposed by Richard Dawkins in 1972. Internet memes can take various forms, such as images, videos, GIFs, and various other viral sensations.


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[–] [email protected] 81 points 3 days ago (5 children)

They are starting to rip out the cables used in car chargers. It's only 2m long, costs £300 to replace and the thief strips out £4 worth of copper.

[–] [email protected] 32 points 3 days ago (3 children)

In turkey there are a lot of people who gather cardboard for recycling for a wage of about 30-40 dollars a day

Is the USA version of this just pulling copper?

[–] MutilationWave 75 points 3 days ago (1 children)

Stealing copper, getting under older cars and cutting out catalytic converters, yes. Copper is not a big money maker but it's better than collecting aluminum cans.

The problem with 90% of crime is poverty. They do hundreds of dollars of damage to make a few bucks. If we had universal basic income or better safety nets these crimes would nearly vanish overnight.

[–] Serinus 8 points 3 days ago (3 children)

Well, except that it's nearly always super damaging.

The US version would be more like collecting cans back when they had a 5 or 10 cent deposit. Today I can't really think of anything like that. Maybe driving Uber/Lyft. Or just panhandling/begging.

[–] Cosmonauticus 4 points 3 days ago

Michigan still does 10 cents a bottle

[–] [email protected] 4 points 3 days ago

People do that now in the Netherlands. The bins on the streets of Amsterdam sometimes have little holsters for bottles and tins so you can leave them for people who'd otherwise (or I imagine who still) dig through the rubbish for the deposit.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 3 days ago

Several states do this, probably more profit than door dash.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 3 days ago

We have recyclers too

[–] dejected_warp_core 6 points 2 days ago (1 children)

If this is how the Western world arrives at harm reduction and UBI for everyone - that it's just good business - I'm not even gonna be mad.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Like that would happen when they can sell £4 cables for £300.

[–] Shard 1 points 2 days ago (2 children)

It's not that £4 cable costs £300. £4 is the scrap value of the copper once the insulation has been peeled off. Freshly made cable costs a bit more than that.

It costs £300 to fix because of the cost of the cable, labour and the workmanship.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 days ago

Well, the ones making the cable still probably only make a small fraction of the value in labor. The majority of the inflated price goes to C suite paychecks.

I remember when I made 10s of thousands worth of cable every day from cheap materials and walked away with a couple thousand a month. I ended up quitting that job, but the slightly mentally challenged woman there who was the most efficient and accurate to spec probably still sits there making cables every day.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Why scrap it when you can turn around and sell it right back to them?

[–] TheLowestStone 1 points 2 days ago (1 children)

If I break into your house and steal your TV then knock on your door the next day to offer to sell it back to you, would you buy it?

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Depends on how much copper is in it, I guess

[–] TempermentalAnomaly 2 points 2 days ago

Not much since I stripped it out and sold it for a cool $4. Now do you want this cable for 1/2 off or not!

[–] RagingRobot 5 points 3 days ago

That will be great when I'm on a long trip looking to charge in the middle of nowhere lol.

I have actually been stranded a couple of times already. Still love electric though

[–] [email protected] 1 points 3 days ago (1 children)

TBF they do have a large gauge wire in them

[–] [email protected] 1 points 3 days ago

It's not a long distance and they don't have super large gauge. I'd have expected 0 or 2/0 but apparently 2-4 is common.