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Ask HN: What’s the most important modern simple invention?

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Re: Ask HN: What’s the most important modern simple invention?

#451

Post by war1025 »

jodrellblank wrote: post #433
war1025 wrote: post #278

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> you could have a savings of 30 minutes every day Maybe I'm unique in this (I don't think I am), but if anything the curse of modern life is that we're absolutely awash in free time. What would I do with an extra 30 minutes? Probably check Hacker News or Facebook more than I already do. The actual washing of the dishes really doesn't take that long. Most of it is gathering everything up, rescuing the sink from the d…

> If you want to get on the modern hype train, you can think of it as a "mindfulness" exercise. There is something therapeutic about having busy hands and letting the mind wander. I don't mean to be gatekeepery here, but aren't "mindful" and "letting the mind wander" pretty much opposites? " Wash every bowl, every dish as if you are bathing a baby - breathing in, feeling joy; breathing out, smiling. Every minute can…

I will admit I don't really know where you're going with this since the two quotes you just gave line up pretty well exactly with what I thought I said.

Seems like you aren't so much responding to what I said as to what you wish I had said.

Re: Ask HN: What’s the most important modern simple invention?

#452

Post by war1025 »

joegahona wrote: post #415
war1025 wrote: post #282

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As a counterpoint, here in the US Midwest, I currently have three pairs of jeans, two thermal shirts, and two button downs that I rotate through and wash honestly maybe quarterly. Other clothing items I go through more quickly, but I'm planning to start giving my undershirts a couple rotations before washing them as well. Same with socks. The main thing I've noticed is that natural fabrics don't pick up smells nearly…

Quarterly washing of clothes is way too seldom for shirts. Jeans? I guess, if you never spill anything on them, etc. But things like shirts, socks, and underwear require washing essentially every time you wear them.

I mean, it's really all just a matter of preference right?

If something gets legitimately dirty, I wash it. That just rarely happens.

Re: Ask HN: What’s the most important modern simple invention?

#453

Post by pikma »

ARandomerDude wrote: post #450
andreygrehov wrote: post #432

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I live in New York and the majority of my friends do not have washing machine in their home. In fact, it’s a luxury to have one. In contrast, I’m originally from Ukraine where not having a washing machine is weird to say the least. There are many things that would make me call US a 2nd world country, so I’m having a hard time understanding which countries are 1st world countries.

Wow. I've lived in the US all my life and I've never heard of a majority of anyone's social group not having a washing machine. Have others experienced this? If so, in what city?

It's common in San Francisco, if you rent. Often you'd have a slated washer dryer in the building, but sometimes not.

Re: Ask HN: What’s the most important modern simple invention?

#454

Post by jdgiese »

ARandomerDude wrote: post #450
andreygrehov wrote: post #432

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I live in New York and the majority of my friends do not have washing machine in their home. In fact, it’s a luxury to have one. In contrast, I’m originally from Ukraine where not having a washing machine is weird to say the least. There are many things that would make me call US a 2nd world country, so I’m having a hard time understanding which countries are 1st world countries.

Wow. I've lived in the US all my life and I've never heard of a majority of anyone's social group not having a washing machine. Have others experienced this? If so, in what city?

I believe this is quite common in New York City, Boston, and Philadelphia.

Most larger buildings have a washer and dryer in the basement of the building.

Many people send their laundry out to have it washed and folded by someone else.

Re: Ask HN: What’s the most important modern simple invention?

#455

Post by war1025 »

oska wrote: post #398
war1025 wrote: post #282

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As a counterpoint, here in the US Midwest, I currently have three pairs of jeans, two thermal shirts, and two button downs that I rotate through and wash honestly maybe quarterly. Other clothing items I go through more quickly, but I'm planning to start giving my undershirts a couple rotations before washing them as well. Same with socks. The main thing I've noticed is that natural fabrics don't pick up smells nearly…

> The main thing I've noticed is that natural fabrics don't pick up smells nearly as badly as synthetics. This is especially true of wool.

Wool is a miracle fiber as far as I'm concerned.

Quick plug for two of my favorite businesses:

Fox River Socks [1], which is a sock factory in my home town. Up until a year or two ago it was locally owned. The owner sold it to a larger holding company though. I think they still have a fair amount of local control though.

Faribault Woolen Mill [2], a maker of wool blankets in southern Minnesota, about an hour and a half from where I grew up.

To throw in a third, we made our own bed ~6 years ago out of wool batting from Shepherd's Dream [3], which is an Oregon-based wool seller. We are actually planning to order more this week to make another for our kids.

[1] https://www.foxsox.com/

[2] https://www.faribaultmill.com/

[3] https://shepherdsdream.com/

Re: Ask HN: What’s the most important modern simple invention?

#456

Post by jdgiese »

war1025 wrote: post #278
godot wrote: post #268

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think if you spend close to an hour to wash dishes every morning, it's actually a good proof of how much time it could save you. Being able to use that hour productively with other means while you do it (e.g. listening to the news or podcasts in your case) is somewhat a separate topic. Loading and unloading the dishwasher for the same amount of dishes every day will probably take less than 30 minutes. I would estim…

> you could have a savings of 30 minutes every day Maybe I'm unique in this (I don't think I am), but if anything the curse of modern life is that we're absolutely awash in free time. What would I do with an extra 30 minutes? Probably check Hacker News or Facebook more than I already do. The actual washing of the dishes really doesn't take that long. Most of it is gathering everything up, rescuing the sink from the d…

> Maybe I'm unique in this (I don't think I am), but if anything the curse of modern life is that we're absolutely awash in free time.

It is hard for me to understand your point of view on this.

What is the difference between saying "modern people have too much free time" and "modern people live too long?"

> What would I do with an extra 30 minutes? Probably check Hacker News or Facebook more than I already do.

Some things you can do in those extra 30 minutes:

- Read a book

- Call an old friend

- Paint, write, or create something

- Code on your hobby project

If you think checking hacker news or Facebook is a waste of time, then don't, and find something more worthwhile to do instead.

Re: Ask HN: What’s the most important modern simple invention?

#457

Post by rriepe »

frutiger wrote: post #428
rriepe wrote: post #177

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For anyone confused as to why: We (not just people but life on Earth) are mostly made of hydrogen, oxygen, carbon and nitrogen. Nitrogen was something of a bottleneck because it's so much less ubiquitous than the other three, which are three of the four most common elements in the universe.

Surely the three most common elements (by any measure) are hydrogen, helium and lithium?

It's complicated. Helium does make the list, but lithium doesn't. Carbon and oxygen are higher than you'd expect if you're just going by atomic weight.

Re: Ask HN: What’s the most important modern simple invention?

#458

Post by noelsusman »

andreygrehov wrote: post #432
sevilo wrote: post #335

Pads and tampons. Some argue these are environmentally unfriendly and produce too much waste, but you have to think, not everyone is privileged enough to own a washing machine in their own home, particularly those in 2nd and 3rd world countries. I genuinely believed pads and tampons allowed women to be more productive in the work force and eventually lead to more equality, just hearing my mom and grandma's story of h…

I live in New York and the majority of my friends do not have washing machine in their home. In fact, it’s a luxury to have one. In contrast, I’m originally from Ukraine where not having a washing machine is weird to say the least. There are many things that would make me call US a 2nd world country, so I’m having a hard time understanding which countries are 1st world countries.

This is only a thing in extremely dense, expensive American cities. Most Americans have washing machines in their home.

Re: Ask HN: What’s the most important modern simple invention?

#460

Post by war1025 »

jdgiese wrote: post #456
war1025 wrote: post #278

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> you could have a savings of 30 minutes every day Maybe I'm unique in this (I don't think I am), but if anything the curse of modern life is that we're absolutely awash in free time. What would I do with an extra 30 minutes? Probably check Hacker News or Facebook more than I already do. The actual washing of the dishes really doesn't take that long. Most of it is gathering everything up, rescuing the sink from the d…

> Maybe I'm unique in this (I don't think I am), but if anything the curse of modern life is that we're absolutely awash in free time. It is hard for me to understand your point of view on this. What is the difference between saying "modern people have too much free time" and "modern people live too long?" > What would I do with an extra 30 minutes? Probably check Hacker News or Facebook more than I already do. Some…

> Some things you can do in those extra 30 minutes

And which of those exactly would be something I could do in the hour that my kids are waking up and wanting me to get them breakfast / wipe their bottoms after they go potty / otherwise demanding things of me?

The thing I want to be doing at that time is listening to the radio. If I'm listening to the radio, then my hands are free.

Might as well just wash the dishes.

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