It always baffles me that this is considered a luxury in the USA while in Germany (and I assume most of Europe) this is the absolute standard. Stalls where the door doesn’t lock properly or where the indicator on the outside is faded so that you can’t reliably determine if it’s occupied are already considered signs of bad maintenance. Gaps that you can look through without pressing your face right against them would be a “nope, I’ll never visit this place again” level scandal.
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Yeah, I know. I wanted to err on the side of caution. I could have said “The US has 0” but didn’t want someone to show up with “well actually in my state…”
This thread seems to be about right-wing Americans getting their “non-woke” coffee from Bolivia so that’s what I used for my comparison.
But sure, let’s compare it to Europe:
- Bolivia has universal healthcare, similar to most European countries. No idea about the quality of course.
- Annual leave gets a bit complicated to compare. For the first five years, it’s a minimum of 10 days, that’s not much indeed. The lowest in Europe (though non-EU) seems to be Turkey with 14 days for the first five years. For years 5-10, it’s a minimum of 20 days, about the same as much of Europe. After 10 years, it goes up to a minimum of 30 days which is actually more than most European countries have as mandatory leave (though for example in Germany, many companies offer 30 days instead of the required 20 as a common perk).
- Maternity leave is similar to the lower end of Europe, For comparison, Germany has 14 weeks at 100% pay.
Overall: not perfect but also not bad for a relatively small country in South America with a GDP that’s way lower than most of Europe.
Just a few examples: Bolivia has universal healthcare for all citizens. The US does not. Bolivia has a minimum 10-30 days of annual leave mandated by law (depending on how long you’ve worked), the US has 0. Bolivia has 13 weeks of maternity leave at 95% pay, the US has… well it’s complicated.
I wouldn’t be surprised if there was a whole generation for whom loss is the “hide some lines in your posts” meme and who have never even seen the original comic let alone know who Tim Buckley is.
At this point it feels like the loss meme is completely divorced from its original meaning and more a „where can I fit it in“ like running Doom on a pregnancy test or Bad Apple on Christmas lights.
It’s SuperbOwl, not SuperOwl, without the “b”, the pun is ruined.
dfyx@lemmy.helios42.deto Today I Learned@lemmy.world•TIL that New York City has a higher population than all but 12 statesEnglish5·2 months agoOh, TIL that the small part by the Caspian Sea is far enough west to be considered Europe. Thanks for the correction.
dfyx@lemmy.helios42.deto Today I Learned@lemmy.world•TIL that New York City has a higher population than all but 12 statesEnglish10·2 months agoNot quite correct. Kazakhstan is in central Asia, not Europe, even by a loose definition. Instead, Belgium (Brussels vs. Antwerp) and - by some definitions of Europe - Turkey (Ankara vs. Istanbul) should be on your list.
Wikipedia has a complete list.
Edit: Germany used to be a case that did this intentionally until 1990. While it was split into West and East Germany, West Germany chose Bonn as its capital as Berlin was surrounded by East Germany. They could have chosen a large city like Hamburg, Munich, Cologne or Frankfurt but went with the much smaller Bonn to symbolize that it was only a temporary solution.
All of the Discworld books of course. Or at least your favorites.
dfyx@lemmy.helios42.deto Today I Learned@lemmy.world•TIL faxing was invented before the telephoneEnglish2·3 months agoThis is your chance to make one. After all, today you learned that.
dfyx@lemmy.helios42.deto Today I Learned@lemmy.world•TIL faxing was invented before the telephoneEnglish51·3 months agoIt’s mostly a “well, technically” kind of thing. First prototypes were around since the 1840s but the first commercial telefax service was introduced in February 1865, a little under two months before Lincoln was killed. Samurai were around until the late 1860s or early 1870s. I can’t quite find when the first telefax machine was operated in Japan but 1928 shows up on some lists.
So yeah, Lincoln could have sent a fax to a samurai if they both had traveled to France just a few weeks before Lincoln’s death.
dfyx@lemmy.helios42.deto Today I Learned@lemmy.world•TIL the largest park in the EU is in South AmericaEnglish16·6 months agoWell, quite literally. The park lies on that exact border.
dfyx@lemmy.helios42.deto Today I Learned@lemmy.world•TIL: Almost all US states could be swing states if non-voters votedEnglish21·8 months agoSee my first bullet point:
“I don’t like either option”: pick the lesser evil or vote third party
dfyx@lemmy.helios42.deto Today I Learned@lemmy.world•TIL: Almost all US states could be swing states if non-voters votedEnglish668·8 months agoSo? What are those reasons?
- “I don’t like either option”: pick the lesser evil or vote third party
- “But Harris won’t stop the genocide in Palestine”: neither will Trump.
- “My vote wouldn’t change anything”: it would. See OP.
- “I can’t vote because I have to work”: vote by mail. Demand that elections are held on a Sunday or national holiday like in most other western democracies. (As an aside, I wonder why conservatives haven’t pushed for this yet. Voting on a Sunday and setting up polling stations next to churches would probably help them a lot)
- “I can’t vote because I can’t physically get to a polling station (disabled, sick, too far)”: vote by mail
- “I can’t vote because my state’s ruling party won’t let me”: you should be furious about this and do anything in your power to change this.
Did I forget any? Probably. Enough to change the election outcome in the majority of states? Most certainly not.
Yes, the US have some fucked up rules that make voting hard for some people and for that exact reason urgently need a voting system reform. Make voting easier and make changes that break the two party system.
Honestly, here in Germany we’re infamous for still using fax machines for half our bureaucracy and even we manage to do it better than you. Here, elections are always on a Sunday when the vast majority of voters has the day off. Every elegible citizen gets a letter a couple of weeks before the election, informing them of their assigned polling station, based on their primary home address. If for any reason you can’t be at your assigned polling station on election day (you work on Sundays, are on vacation, whatever), requesting a mail-in ballot is as easy as going to a website and entering your address and a PIN from the letter. Alternatively you can request one by mail. If for any reason you don’t get that initial letter, figure out which polling station is the correct one for you (usually the closest one; ask your neighbors), show up on election day and show some government-issued ID. Done.
dfyx@lemmy.helios42.deto Today I Learned@lemmy.world•TIL Disney's Star Wars Hotel was a massive waste of timeEnglish16·10 months agoInterestingly there are some videos that show what it’s like when it does work and it’s amazing (though still probably not worth thousands of dollars). That makes it even more frustrating when it doesn’t. It’s been a while since I watched Jenny‘s video but I think she made a point of that near the end.
The hotel was so expensive in both development and upkeep that they had to have a high price and high capacity at the same time to still make a profit. In the end it was basically luck if the actors had time to interact with you and if they didn’t, you had to rely on the rather barebones automated stuff while still paying for the full experience.
As someone from Europe I can guarantee you that 5-10cm (2-4") at the bottom and 30cm (12") at the top with almost no gap between the door and wall are by far enough to not suffocate. Maybe put a vent in the ceiling for good measure.