this post was submitted on 07 Mar 2024
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ShowerThoughts

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Sometimes we have those little epiphanies in the shower.. sometimes they come from other places. This is a home for those epiphanies.

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[–] [email protected] 7 points 8 months ago (6 children)

I've been wondering why I'm not a fucking genius.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago) (5 children)

The dude who first thought to put lead in gasoline is genuinely responsiblw for so much harm. I hate him passionately.

How much easier would my differential equations course be if he never did that? /s

[–] [email protected] 15 points 8 months ago (4 children)

The guy who put lead in it (Thomas Midgley), came up with a few solutions. Ethanol was actually the better additive for the task (stopping engine knock), but General Motors couldn’t patent the use of ethanol so they ended up going with lead.

Midgley even knew lead poisoning was dangerous and had poisoned himself by accident previously. Much like climate change, the companies didn’t care.

Blame him for selling it as safe, but the real blame lays with General Motors and capitalism for wanting to make sure only they could profit off of the solution.

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

Nominated for pun of the year. It was a solution (aqueous lead) and they did profit off of it.

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