this post was submitted on 08 Feb 2025
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What's something that's taken for granted that occasionally makes you think, wait wtf? (feddit.uk)
submitted 9 hours ago by manicdave@feddit.uk to c/asklemmy@lemmy.ml
31 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

For example, Britain's national mapping organisation's brand is associated in our national consciousness with going to a small shop in a quaint village to get a map showing how to walk up a mountain. It's called Ordnance Survey. If that sounds like Artillery Research to you, that's because the project started because the king wanted to know how to accurately bomb Scotland.

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[–] manicdave@feddit.uk 19 points 8 hours ago* (last edited 8 hours ago) (3 children)

Driving just gets more absurd the more you think about it.

Had it not been invented yet, would anyone get away with suggesting a machine propelled by explosions supplied by a tank of the most flammable liquid possible kept underneath the passenger seats?

[–] Scrath@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 points 58 minutes ago

Your comment just reminded me of a sci-fi short story about how humans solve every problem eith explosions.

https://www.reddit.com/r/HFY/comments/16fx8tc/humans_solve_problems_with_explosions/

[–] LeftRedditOnJul1@lemmy.world 14 points 8 hours ago (1 children)

If you think driving's weird, think about flying, too. We put several tons of that explode-y liquid, along with a bunch of people, into a big metal tube and shoot it into the sky. And we made that form of transportation several orders of magnitude safer than driving.

[–] Catoblepas@lemmy.blahaj.zone 8 points 8 hours ago

I feel like it’s probably going to go down in safety an order of magnitude or two in the US given, you know, The Horrors.

[–] ADKSilence@kbin.earth 10 points 8 hours ago (1 children)

Not just merely a machine powered by explosions, sitting on volatile liquids... but one in which we've decided that it's also a great place to enjoy some music, maybe a nice beverage, and as a great way to take our attention off into vast distances to the sides to "see the sights".

I think to myself as I steer with one knee, trying to simultaneously drink my coffee and light a cigarette...

[–] manicdave@feddit.uk 10 points 8 hours ago (1 children)

You don't need to worry about crashing. You'll be protected by an unmaintained bomb that can inflate a pillow faster than you can travel 18 inches at 70 mph yet somehow never goes off accidentally.