this post was submitted on 23 Jan 2026
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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. The most popular seem to be lighthearted clever little truths, hidden in daily life.

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Prices have inflated so much over the past 10 years that a $20 bill buys as much as $5 did back then.

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[–] crimsonpoodle@pawb.social 3 points 2 hours ago

Not totally, but it depends, inflation doesn't happen equally between goods, but in a general sense thats a bit high.

[–] Agent641@lemmy.world 1 points 1 hour ago

For cocaine, yes

[–] bridgeenjoyer@sh.itjust.works 9 points 5 hours ago

Totally.

Now I see something for $50 and im like oh not bad.

Then im like WAIT THAT WAS 20 DOLLARS 7 YEARS AGO WTF!

[–] KingGimpicus@sh.itjust.works 2 points 3 hours ago (2 children)

Someone find a nerd to do the math.

Based on the value of $1 USD on today, Jan 23 2026, on what date was $5 worth what $20 is today?

(Authors note: I'm gonna fuckin off myself if the answer is post Y2k)

[–] specimen@lemmy.world 3 points 3 hours ago

On this website, it says that it was on 1980.

[–] booly@sh.itjust.works 3 points 3 hours ago (1 children)

$5 in April 1980 dollars is the inflation adjusted equivalent of $20 in December 2025:

https://data.bls.gov/cgi-bin/cpicalc.pl?cost1=5.00&year1=198004&year2=202512

[–] Gonzako@lemmy.world 1 points 52 minutes ago

These feel kinda strange. How do they get calculated? Like while a dollar is less over time yes how well does it take into account that everything has just gotten better at extranting wealth?

[–] lastlybutfirstly@lemmy.world 5 points 7 hours ago* (last edited 7 hours ago)

I use 1930 as the base year. So the $20 USD bill is actually the new $1 bill.

[–] FreshParsnip@lemmy.ca 4 points 6 hours ago (1 children)
[–] MintyFresh@lemmy.world 6 points 3 hours ago* (last edited 3 hours ago) (2 children)

This is something that bugs me. People back in the day could actually make useful purchases with coins. I want a 50c, 1d, 2d, 5d, and 10d coins. Loose the penny and maybe even nickels

[–] Nollij@sopuli.xyz 1 points 18 minutes ago

They introduced the Sacagawea dollar coins a while back with the expectations that people would use them for daily transactions. After an initial brief interest, they quickly fell off. Turns out that people in the US don't really care to use coins, and used the paper $1 bills at every opportunity.

[–] FreshParsnip@lemmy.ca 3 points 2 hours ago (1 children)

We ditched the penny in Canada years ago. Nickels and dimes are near useless

[–] eva@discuss.online 3 points 1 hour ago

The U.S. also stopped minting pennies last year.

[–] FunnyUsername@lemmy.world 4 points 7 hours ago (2 children)

I still dream about 5 for 5.95 Arby's roast beefs

[–] thermal_shock@lemmy.world 3 points 7 hours ago (1 children)

When I was in SC, if the gamecocks won, they had a deal 5 roast beef and cheddars for $5. Bet your ass I took advantage of that.

[–] Bronzebeard@lemmy.zip 3 points 4 hours ago (2 children)

That used to be their normal everyday deal in the 90s. 5 for 5. Then it was 4 for 5, then 3 for 5. Now I don't even know if you can get one sandwich for that.

[–] thermal_shock@lemmy.world 3 points 3 hours ago

I remember sonic and big league burgers had 5 for 5 regularly fucking loved their burgers.

[–] thermal_shock@lemmy.world 2 points 3 hours ago

Nope, single sandwich is a roughly $6

[–] CluckN@lemmy.world 2 points 7 hours ago (1 children)

If it’s Arby’s I’m assuming it’s a nightmare?

[–] thermal_shock@lemmy.world 4 points 7 hours ago (1 children)

Nah, it's processed, but not bad. I like it.

[–] Abundance114@lemmy.world 2 points 7 hours ago

Tastes so good, or at least it did years ago.

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