riskable

That's actually an unholey workaround! o contains 100% more hole than -.

A 3D printed PLA object would degrade faster than an injection molded one. Because the layer lines provide much, much more surface area for bacterial infiltration.

I read a study about that specific thing once but I searched just now and can't find it (from my phone). I'll search again when I'm back at my PC later so I can give you a link but... That makes sense, right?

For plastics like PET and ABS microbial breakdown doesn't occur but with PLA and PHA it does. The more surface area, the faster it can be broken down.

Whereas with ABS and PET, the more surface area, the faster it will turn into long-lasting microplastics.

PLA microplastics take three years. That 80-years figure you've got in your brain is for PET:

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0166445X25001547#%3A%7E%3Atext=In+fact%2C+slower+degradation+rates%2C%28European+Bioplastics%2C+2023%29.

(BTW: That study is brand new! From a few days ago.)

See also: https://cen.acs.org/materials/polymers/biodegradable-polymers-make-microplastics/102/i37#%3A%7E%3Atext=In+the+open+environment%2C+PLA%2Cover+another+several+years+%28Sci.

There's some confusion about how PLA breaks down because there's remnants after the 3-5 years where it's not detectable anymore. Those remnants are not microplastics at that point. They're just the base components (e.g. lactic acid) that can last a little bit longer.

Some colorants can last a really long time but I haven't looked into those as much as I have plastics.

BTW: The "sparkly bits" in "silk" filament is just mica powder (iron). It looks like it might be harmful but it's not.

Not only that but most 3D printing is done with PLA which doesn't generate meaningful microplastics. I mean, it does but they only last a short time out in the wild. A study funded by the state of California found that PLA will last up to three years of left out in the environment (e.g. not in a trash dump).

Three years is nothing. Also consider that many animals can eat and digest PLA. Furthermore, if it ends up in your body it will eventually be broken down.

The real microplastics problem comes from tires and plastics like ABS that are used in f'ing everything. ABS microplastics last like 400 years or something like that.

Other plastics last even longer but the studies I've looked at all suggest the same thing: Tires and ABS.

Even PET water bottles aren't as bad because they only last 80-100 years (until *fully" broken down). That sounds like a long time but also consider that PET fibers are mostly inert and don't seem to absorb and re-release nasty things like ABS.

Don't get me wrong: PET microplastics (which mostly consist of tiny fibers from textiles—not from bottles) are 100% a problem. They're just a fraction of the problem of everything else.

For reference, the biggest problem with PET fibers is that they float and can be carried by the wind. That means they tend to settle on top of soil which causes it to absorb more heat and retain less moisture... Requiring more watering. Whereas the butawhateverthefucktoxicshit that tires break down into can result in soil that's harmful to life (in general). Enough of it and nothing will grow at all.

That's why you rarely see weeds sprouting up from kids playgrounds that were filled with chopped up car tires. Well, that and the fact that they can get really hot.

That is a six-pin flex PCB connector. Nothing more. Nothing less.

What did it connect? Dunno. It could connect any number of things that needed six pins for communication.

My wild guess: A floppy drive motor.

Try the chips.

bows in solemn gesture

Are there any other websites that still let you put in your AIM and ICQ numbers? Or brag about your super low user ID? 19437 BTW 🤣

LEGO Representative: "What's the likelihood..."

This guy: "Never tell me the odds!"

I'm pining for an answer to this question myself.

Totally unfair comparison. Reek was tortured and had his balls forcibly cut off to become what he was.

Rubio was like that from the start.

A president that doesn't believe in civil rights and due process deserves neither.