this post was submitted on 09 Feb 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.

Here are some examples to inspire your own showerthoughts:

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Rechargeable electric arc lighters kinda suck for the average person, and will typically end up as e-waste. (infosec.pub)
submitted 1 month ago by over_clox@lemmy.world to c/showerthoughts@lemmy.world
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I've had this one for a little over 2 years, but I suspect it wouldn't last the average person 2 months before it outright fails and they just throw it away.

Why? Well, electronics don't exactly like smoke of any form, whether it be nicotine, weed, wood, paper, etc. But that's exactly what these lighters do, literally light things on fire, which of course generates smoke and dirties the electrodes, up until the point they start shorting out, if not other issues first.

I happen to be an electronics technician that knows how to safely disassemble, service and clean this thing occasionally, but its highly suggested that nobody ever try to service them, as they generate thousands of volts for the electric arc, which absolutely will burn the piss out of your fingers, if not worse.

I'm actually glad to have it, it was a cheap late Christmas gift from my mom back in January 2024, but I figure basically 99% of average consumers would end up having issues with it and throwing it away within ~2 months or less.

Sigh, e-waste...

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[–] over_clox@lemmy.world 2 points 1 month ago

I think the biggest flaw with mine in particular is that they put a chrome plated (electrically conductive) beauty cover cap over the ceramic insulator for the electrodes. ⚡🤦‍♂️

When everything is perfectly clean it works just fine. But over time, especially when used to light a pack of smokes a day, nicotine, tar and ash build up over the ceramic which ends up leading to electricity bleeding through the tar, shorting out to the chrome plating, leading to a short circuit, incorrect arcing, and pretty rapid failure of the electrodes.

If it had been designed without the chrome plated beauty cover cap, it would most likely last damn near forever without having to bother cleaning it all that much, but sigh, it's piss poor engineering to put a conductive cover over high voltage arcing electrodes.

Regardless, at least I know how to safely clean and maintain it, and indeed its already saved me countless disposable lighters. But for the average person, the moment it shorts out through the chrome and into the metal shell, and literally zaps the person holding it, most people would basically say fuck that and toss it the moment they get electrocuted.