u/Silver_Intern2324

When did the popularity of standing up to shower overtake sitting down to bathe? I’m curious in general, but for the sake of simplification let’s just say in the United States.

Like most socio-technological changes in the mid 20th century I’m assuming it had something to do with WWII, but where exactly was the tipping point when most average people, on an average workday, cleaned up via a shower instead of a bath?

When did they get universally popular enough that every standard domestic bathroom had to have a shower head, not just a tub and faucet?

The impression I have is that communal and private showers were used by soldiers, athletes and prisoners decades before they were popular for daily use by the general public, but when was the tipping point between “You can buy a shower for your home if you would like one” and “All houses and apartments come with a shower as the bare minimum?” My gut instinct is sometime between 1960-1970. Am I correct?

I’m working on converting my yard to mostly non-lawn wildflower features and native plants, but in the meantime I still have some lawn and I do still have to mow it sometimes, even though I don’t like to.

I want to preserve the fireflies and other friends that are hiding in the grass as much as possible. Is there a time of day or a time of season that is better for mowing in this regard? Is it better to put off mowing for as long as possible, or is that counterproductive? Can anyone point me in the right direction?

I was having problems using my watering can because there’s always a big wasp poking around the openings and under the handle trying to get at the water inside. To lure her away I set out a tea saucer with a small rock in it (a few feet away from where I usually keep the watering can) and filled it with water.

I wasn’t sure if she would get the idea at first or if it would even be a more attractive source than the watering can but sure enough, only five minutes later she had figured out perching on the edge of the dish to daintily sip a bit of water. Now whenever I look out there I see her approach the dish (always from the same angle and always landing in the same spot… Interesting!) for a drink of water about once every twenty or thirty minutes when the sun is out.

I didn’t think of it again until some time later on a hot, sunny day when I was working in another part of the garden. While I was in the weeds, a wasp approached and started to circle and bob around me in an agitated manner.

I have a healthy respect but also a little wariness of stinging insects, so my first instinct was to walk calmly but briskly back to the house. However, after a little observation I realized that the wasp was agitated, but wasn’t behaving agitated at ME. Just close bobbing, circling and weaving.

Noticing this, I thought, “Could this be ‘my’ wasp? The wasp that drinks out of the water dish?”

I followed my hunch and sure enough, when I checked on the saucer it was bone dry. I gave it a little splash from the watering can and Ms. Wasp (who had followed close at my heel up to this point) went right for it, landed on her fave spot and started gulping down water! I was proud of both of us for our calm interspecies communication and collaboration.

Now whenever the water dish is empty she finds me in the garden to “tell” me it needs refilling :)

“What would you call this aesthetic?”

picture of expressionless skinny woman living a prohibitively expensive lifestyle

I’m in the midwestern United States, and I’ve been noticing a concerning trend over the past couple years: no apricots in the grocery stores at all. Not even at the peak of their season. Not even the upscale markets have them. There are some plums and nectarines, but no apricots as far as the eye can see.

Is it like that where you’re living too, or is my town just an apricot-less wasteland? What happened to all the apricots?

I have a coworker who complains that she “always” get bothered by yellowjackets or hornets when she uses a certain exit of our building, and that she’s been stung at least three or four times while entering and exiting. I was confused because I use the same exit every day and that’s never happened to me once. I’ve seen a couple wasps around there from time to time but they never act aggressive when I’m there. I told her to act calm and not react to them and they would leave her alone, but she said that’s never worked for her before.

Meanwhile, I know another guy who has never been stung by wasps, bees, yellowjackets, or hornets ever in his life. He can get right up close to them, work around them, move quickly around them and they don’t even care. He can do things like pick them up, move them around and even pet them on their little backs and they don’t seem to mind at all. The bumblebees even seem to like it!

That’s just a sample of two people, but I’ve noticed this discrepancy play out again and again with other people too. What’s the difference? Is it something about body chemistry, or body language? Is it the fear chemicals they’re smelling? Scientifically, what’s up with that?

1980s, possibly 90s cartoon, title says it all really. It’s not even that obscure of a show but there are too many similar things that come up when you use basic search terms. Google sees ‘animal’ and ‘power armor’ and says “Oh it must be Wild Kratts” it’s obviously NOT Wild Kratts. It’s not Team Mekbots. It’s not Animal Mechanics.

I was at work yesterday and a guy came in who was snapping his teeth. Now I don’t mean grinding his teeth or clicking his teeth or chattering his teeth, I mean opening his mouth as wide as he could and SNAPPING them shut like an alligator.

He was doing this at random while walking around, then for a while he sat down and continued snapping his teeth with his eyes closed and his head tilted back. He’d sloooowly open his mouth as wide as it would go and then SNAP them shut like a bear trap triggering, making a really loud unpleasant sound almost like a block of wood being chopped in half. I’ve never heard anyone make such a loud sound with their teeth that didn’t end with an emergency trip to the dentists’ office before.

What kind of behavior is this? After the first couple times I thought he might be wearing dentures and needed to adjust them, but he kept doing this on and off for more than thirty minutes. He acted totally unbothered and unaware that it might seem strange to the other people in the room. Why was he doing this? It looked like it must feel awful, but he looked completely relaxed and at ease while doing it. Is it chewing tobacco related? I can usually tell when people have a wad of chaw in, but I didn’t see one. Is it a meth thing? What was going on with this guy I saw?

Rap, hip hop or R&B album from the 1980s. Either the name of the group or the album title was something along the lines of “High Energy Squad.” The cover showed a group of women standing in a dark, smoky atmosphere holding futuristic weapons like sci-fi rifles and bazookas. As you can imagine, they were looking at the camera with great intensity and poise. They were also very sweaty, if I remember correctly.