this post was submitted on 29 Jun 2026
267 points (95.3% liked)
Showerthoughts
42802 readers
341 users here now
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:
- Both “200” and “160” are 2 minutes in microwave math
- When you’re a kid, you don’t realize you’re also watching your mom and dad grow up.
- More dreams have been destroyed by alarm clocks than anything else
Rules
- All posts must be showerthoughts
- The entire showerthought must be in the title
- 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
- Posts must be original/unique
- Adhere to Lemmy's Code of Conduct and the TOS
If you made it this far, showerthoughts is accepting new mods. This community is generally tame so its not a lot of work, but having a few more mods would help reports get addressed a little sooner.
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.
founded 3 years ago
MODERATORS
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
view the rest of the comments
I don't think the manufacturers want to open that can of worms. You do have a choice of different sounds on some cars. I think it's good that they all sound similar, making them more recognisable.
Old hybrids didn't have those sounds and they're dead quiet at low speeds which is creepy.
Also, if you can customise the sound, you can remove the sound, which would defeat the purpose of the regulations.
You can remove the sound anyway. Some cars will throw an error if the speaker is missing, but you can buy hardware to fool it. Just a resistor with the right connector. Easy peasy. I'm pretty sure it's not even illegal, it only has to be sold that way.
Ever snuck up on someone in a seven thousand pound chungus-mobile? I have. It's hilarious.
Of course it can be done, but that doesn't mean that it should be made easier to do.
It is my car. I should be able to do with it whatever I want!
I can remove the airbag, but do I really want to do that?
I can remove the exhaust (on an old car) and drive without it. It's not efficient and not legal but I can do it. I won't do it because if I get caught I have to pay a fine and I want a good car. Same for the sound. If I get caught, I'd have to pay a fine.
That's just because where you live it's the wild west but in other parts of the world removing an airbag or changing an exhaust without certification is a periodic inspection failure and you can't drive that vehicle on public roads until you fix it.
Not that I'm personally a fan of the more invasive requirements, but there are things that affect others and if someone doesn't have the respect or brain cells to avoid bothering others then a common ground needs to be set for everyone's safety and comfort. That includes the noise you make going down the residential street.
Huh? I talk about having the physical possibility.
I want to be able to change anything on my car. If I can't change it, I am not the one who is in charge, I don't own it. If I can't change the sound, who is in control of the car?
Well then you can change the sound of the car. You might have to bypass or add your own equipment, but you can do it.
Doesn't mean the manufacturer should reasonably be expected to make it even easier.
Yes, that is exactly the point. You have to replace the part because you are not in control of it.
Driving a car is a privilege, not a right.
When we're talking about the safety of others, and a machine that results in millions of deaths per year worldwide, I could not care less if you're sad that you can't change something in your car. Get over it.
Please read again, you're missing the point
Yeah maybe this is a problem. Maybe you should have actual reasons to not remove your exhaust beyond "I don't want to pay a fine"
Then you "can't" do it by the same logic. Because it's not legal.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=ftJX_HZ5S4g
Somehow when I first saw this it didn't seem like an ad.
Recognizability is the key. That is the entire purpose of the fake car sounds: to have your car make noises that bystanders will immediately recognize as a nearby car. It's a safety feature. The ability to change it to an arbitrary audio file negatively impacts a safety standard. Same reason why rainbow crosswalks are a bad idea.
Had me in the first half, ngl.
It's not exactly the same thing, but it is analogous. Taking a standardized zebra striped crosswalk and recoloring it for any reason (pride, sports team colors, etc.) is taking away from that standardization, reducing safety.
It depends what you understand the purpose and effect of a crosswalk to be.
If you think it’s basically a signpost on the road saying “there might be pedestrians here” then the standardization is perhaps important. But even then there’s a decent amount of latitude as long as the feature is recognizable.
If it’s just visual noise that makes people uncomfortable to go fast through, then the specific design is far less important. (“Friction” as described in this video.)