this post was submitted on 11 Aug 2023
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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. A showerthought should offer a unique perspective on an ordinary part of life.

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[–] [email protected] 8 points 1 year ago (3 children)

I got used to it, you just need to look at the US as a union of states like Europe, in which case Arkansas is about equivalent to Lithuania in population (although if you correct for the more states and less pop of the US you get Bulgaria or Finland if you use a ranked method) . The same could be done for China, India and Brazil.

[–] Squander 7 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Sir, how dare you insult Lithuania like that.

[–] [email protected] 12 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

Alright, polandball time: I'll ask around the EU++ who wants to play Arkansas in the school play...if nobody takes it, I'm giving it to Hungary :D because they're being a dick lately. So, which state do you want? I hear Idaho's nice :) Germany already took California, France took New York, Italy took Texas, Spain took Florida, the Netherlands took Pennsylvania, Poland took Illinois, Romania got Georgia, Sweden asked for Michigan and Austria asked for Massachusets, Finland got offered Indiana, but picked Arizona, lol etc etc...sooo...do you want Wisconsin, Lithuania? Also: UK guest starring as Canada and Turkey as Mexico lol

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Idaho, the mountainous parts, are nice. Some of the people are nice. But in general, Idaho has some of the most batshit insane stuff happening in it in regards to cults and crazy people. It's been getting crazier in recent years. They were an absolute mess during the pandemic and needed tons of help from other states who then couldn't look after locals in need.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I was trying to be inclusive, because I'm not american and I don't want to disparage those places I've never been to or know that well...but since you say it...rural states sound like a backwater nightmare :/

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

Honestly, all they really need are better schools and then about 20-30 years for those kids to become adults. Changes society for the better. Religion is a big chink in people's armor here. I wouldn't count 'em out yet, but right now...God fuck there is some crazy shit that goes down there, lol.

Still, gotta give them credit where credit is due: Idaho was the state that hosted the Sawtooth wolf pack which was a research program that later helped reintroduce the wolves to Yellowstone. This led to a broader effort to restore apex predators across the US, which has restored ecosystems and made the animal populations much more healthy, from the northern US all the way down to the southern US.

So, while Idaho can sometimes be rather trying, they have given us some pretty good environmental gifts and research.

[–] GONADS125 3 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I think they just mean it's irrelevant to them. I'm a US native and I'm sure I'd find it annoying. In fact, sometimes I'd be annoyed on reddit that so much of the content was about the US. I like that lemmy is more of a melting pot.

I think the US may account for the largest demographic on lemmy still due to the reddit exodus, but it seems to be much less pronounced here on lemmy at the very least.

[–] aidan 0 points 1 year ago (1 children)

But news of a major political entity like a state government is world news.

[–] Iron_Lynx 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

State as in national? Sure.

State as in US subdivision? Nah.

Y'all might care what Westminster or the Bundestag or maybe Brussels say, but about what comes out of the state capital of Wyoming, I couldn't fathom giving any less of a fuck than I already do. Which is none.

[–] aidan 0 points 1 year ago

Why should the California government matter less than the Lithuania? It has a much higher population, much more of a cultural influence globally, and a much bigger economy.

[–] Ryumast3r 3 points 1 year ago

Didn't realize Lithuania was under 3 million. For some reason I had it in my head that they were closer to 4-5. Insane.