this post was submitted on 19 Apr 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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    • 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
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[–] halcyoncmdr@piefed.social 106 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (3 children)

That's what happens when the US waits to cancel your passport until you are stuck in the transit hub of a Russian airport waiting for your next flight out of the country.

iIRC it took like 12 months until Russia granted Snowden asylum and he could leave the airport hub.

[–] pfried@reddthat.com 11 points 19 hours ago* (last edited 19 hours ago)

It was revoked before he left China. https://apnews.com/general-news-587786e6e63b4dc2b70c471606d7f584

That didn't stop China from ignoring his asylum request following his release of documentation of hacked Chinese systems and kicking him out of the country because whether you have a valid passport doesn't matter for geopolitical issues. https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1259508/edward-snowden-us-government-has-been-hacking-hong-kong-and-china

Russia was under no obligation to keep Snowden instead of letting him continue to Ecuador. Putin just wanted to use him as a bargaining chip with the U.S., but the U.S. understood that all his documents were already public, so Putin hasn't been able to play that card well yet.

[–] SarahFromOz@lemmy.world 55 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Like that Tom Hanks movie! I think it's called The Terminal

[–] halcyoncmdr@piefed.social 74 points 1 day ago (2 children)

Which itself is based on the true story of Mehran Karimi Nasseri who lived in Terminal 1 of Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport, France, from 1988 to 2006.

It is uncommon, but passports being invalidated during travel does happen.

[–] DarrinBrunner@lemmy.world 1 points 4 hours ago

Didn't see the movie, I had no idea it was that long.

[–] SomethingBurger@jlai.lu 22 points 1 day ago (2 children)

Wikipedia says this guy was mostly responsible for what happened to him. He allegedly lost his passport, and refused any help from France and Belgium.

[–] mech@feddit.org 17 points 1 day ago* (last edited 13 hours ago)

He actually sent his passport away to Belgium while en route to London, refused to sign a new passport with his real name, demanding one with the name Sir Alfred and no mention of his Iranian citizenship, and returned to the airport even after he had left it once to go to the hospital.
Sounds to me like he got used to his life there, with the fame and not needing to work.
He also made $200k from the filming rights.

[–] Mononomi@lemmy.world 40 points 1 day ago (1 children)

40 days but that's still quite some

[–] halcyoncmdr@piefed.social 25 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Ah you are right. I seem to have gotten it mixed up with the initial 1 year refugee status he was granted, before the first 3 year temporary residency permit.

Either way, the US tried to prevent his leaving Hong Kong but however they submitted it, their request didn't comply with Hong Kong law so there was no legal basis for them to detain him.

Four countries had offered Snowden permanent asylum: Ecuador, Nicaragua, Bolivia, and Venezuela. No direct flights between Moscow and Venezuela, Bolivia, or Nicaragua existed, however, and the U.S. pressured countries along his route to hand him over. His intended destination was Ecuador, but his passport being revoked while he was in flight from Hong Kong meant he was stuck in Russia.

He had given all copies of the evidence he had to journalists in Hong Kong reporting on American issues, specifically so when travelling through Russia they would have nothing to leverage.

Snowden said in July 2013 that he decided to bid for asylum in Russia because he felt there was no safe way to reach Latin America.

[–] Aqarius@lemmy.world 22 points 1 day ago

Considering they grounded Evo Morales' plane because they thought he was on it, I'd say that's a fair bet.