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: 1

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due to the curvature of the Earth a really long building can't have walls that are both parallel and level. (self.showerthoughts)

submitted 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) by linearchaos to c/showerthoughts

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Aparently, I've conflated Level with Plumb, the walls cannot be parallel and plumb. Due to the curve, the center of gravity for the walls would require them to angle in slightly together or not be plumb.

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[–] plenipotentprotogod 6 points 2 years ago

I seem to recall that this has to be accounted for when designing the support towers on particularly long bridges. According to a quick Google search, the most extreme example is the Akashi-Kaikyō bridge in Japan. The support towers are almost 3.5 inches farther apart at the top than they are at the bottom.

Also FYI, the word "level" generally refers to things laying perfectly flat. The word "plumb" refers to thing standing perfectly upright, which is why some jokers in the comments are giving you a hard time, despite what you meant being fairly obvious.