this post was submitted on 25 Jan 2024
1142 points (98.3% liked)

memes

9808 readers
2713 users here now

Community rules

1. Be civilNo trolling, bigotry or other insulting / annoying behaviour

2. No politicsThis is non-politics community. For political memes please go to [email protected]

3. No recent repostsCheck for reposts when posting a meme, you can only repost after 1 month

4. No botsNo bots without the express approval of the mods or the admins

5. No Spam/AdsNo advertisements or spam. This is an instance rule and the only way to live.

Sister communities

founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS
 
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] Sylvartas 76 points 8 months ago (6 children)

Forget this gimmick, the real yuropean superiority is in proper blinds that are actually designed to block most light. For some reason they are extremely uncommon in north America

[–] [email protected] 35 points 8 months ago

Those are made by the same people who make American bathroom stall doors

[–] [email protected] 22 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago) (2 children)

I'm going to go absolutely bonkers if I have to deal with one more set of cordless blinds that refuse to lift back up after you pull them down. The unshielded street light that exists only to ensure that I can see my car from my window at night, and shines not only through the cheap pvc but between the slats directly into my retinas, lighting my entire room at least 10 lumens brighter when there's a layer of snow on the ground, is already wearing my sanity quite thin on its own, and I'm not even on the floor that catches the most light from it.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 8 months ago (2 children)

Please, for your sanity, buy some blackout curtains

[–] CoffeeJunkie 8 points 8 months ago

Oh, for their sanity...and it sounds like they're in an environment with cold temps that have snow...blackout curtains will also help with keeping out the cold, keeping heat in. Save on utilities.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago) (2 children)

I don't want blackout curtains. I like to let some light in the morning and during the day without sacrificing privacy in the early evening if I forget to close them. I also don't like the thick unwieldy material of blackout curtains. Whoever put the stupid street lights out should have to be more considerate of the light pollution they create 😂

[–] aesthelete 2 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago) (1 children)

Have you thought about installing a blackout cellular shade instead? I bought a shade for this room I'm sitting in that's basically two shades in one: it has a shade that lets in light and one that blacks everything out. If you want daylight, you pull the one shade down, if you want darkness you put that shade fully up, and if you want access to the window you put them both up.

It was IMO pretty affordable. I think the one I bought was around $300, and I have pretty large windows.

Here's what they look like if you're interested

[–] [email protected] 2 points 8 months ago (1 children)

I actually always wanted those since I saw them in my aunt's home but my mom never wanted to pay for them. Then I went to university and lived in various student accommodations. And now that school is done, my next move is in June and I'm actually going to Germany lol.

I'm mostly just lamenting that the american standard is such hot garbage that barely accomplishes what it is designed to do.

[–] aesthelete 2 points 8 months ago

Ah gotcha, every apartment I've ever been in and my condo up until I installed these shades had crappy, plastic Venetian blinds that were basically pointless for blocking light...so I agree 100%.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 8 months ago

Fair point about the light pollution. In my town they've been replacing the street lights with LED versions and it seems the beams are now more concentrated and lighting the street instead of everything in the proximity.

I hope a change like this may happen to your street in the future.

[–] Sylvartas 2 points 8 months ago

My dad is a light sleeper and when he has to attend a conference in the US he literally has to bring a sleeping mask to ensure he will be able to sleep properly

[–] theangryseal 12 points 8 months ago (3 children)

I just want something my cat can’t destroy, is that too much to ask?

[–] [email protected] 18 points 8 months ago (3 children)

European blinds solve this as well, they are made of plastic and are on the outside of the window, not inside

[–] [email protected] 2 points 8 months ago (1 children)

Blinds on the outside? Here all blinds are inside the window between the window planes

[–] Sylvartas 2 points 8 months ago (1 children)

Which is complete lunacy, if you ask me.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 8 months ago (1 children)

Why? They are protected from the weather.

I also forgot to mention that I am in Europe.

[–] Sylvartas 1 points 8 months ago

Tbh I'm just used to always finding them on the outside. But yeah if they're not old-timey style blinds that are basically just doors for your windows I guess having them inside has some advantages.

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

Huh? They aren't in every European country

[–] [email protected] 2 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago) (1 children)

At least all countries I've been to have blinds on the outside. Germany and Netherlands have rolling shutters like these: https://www.rollorieper.de/images/rollladen/overview_rollladen_mobile.webp

Southern and Eastern european countries tend to have little doors on the outside like these: https://www.schneider-schoenwalde.de/fileadmin/_processed_/3/8/csm_moosgruene-fensterlaeden_d2513c37b0.webp which are made of wood or plastic

I have never been to poland, scandinavia or the baltics, but all countries I've been to have one way or another to completely block light and don't let cats scratch the curtains

[–] [email protected] 1 points 8 months ago

Not romania :p

[–] chiliedogg 9 points 8 months ago

That line of thought is the first step towards making cats more destructive.

[–] taanegl 2 points 8 months ago
[–] GreatCornolio 3 points 8 months ago

But think of the curtains industry! We must protect it

-Some congressional committee, circa 2029

[–] [email protected] 2 points 8 months ago (1 children)

proper blinds that are actually designed to block most light

You mean roll shutters?

Childhood home had both tilt & turn windows along with roll shutters, all imported from Germany in the late 70s when no-one in North America had them. I’m doing a frame-off reno on my current to add exactly those features.

[–] Sylvartas 1 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago)

You mean roll shutters?

Yes, I was not sure about the English terminology 😅 I was a bit shocked when I went studying in Canada and discovered they were basically alien technology to them

[–] supercriticalcheese 2 points 8 months ago (1 children)

Xommon in central and southern Europe, not sure about northern. They are mostly there to limit sunlight in the summer where the house would be baked otherwise.

[–] Sylvartas 2 points 8 months ago (1 children)

They're all over the place in France and Germany. Also saw them a lot in Greece but I didn't visit that many places here tbh

[–] supercriticalcheese 2 points 8 months ago

Yes Greece and Italy definitely very common.