this post was submitted on 19 Apr 2025
1006 points (99.9% liked)

Europe

5646 readers
1387 users here now

News and information from Europe ๐Ÿ‡ช๐Ÿ‡บ

(Current banner: La Mancha, Spain. Feel free to post submissions for banner images.)

Rules (2024-08-30)

  1. This is an English-language community. Comments should be in English. Posts can link to non-English news sources when providing a full-text translation in the post description. Automated translations are fine, as long as they don't overly distort the content.
  2. No links to misinformation or commercial advertising. When you post outdated/historic articles, add the year of publication to the post title. Infographics must include a source and a year of creation; if possible, also provide a link to the source.
  3. Be kind to each other, and argue in good faith. Don't post direct insults nor disrespectful and condescending comments. Don't troll nor incite hatred. Don't look for novel argumentation strategies at Wikipedia's List of fallacies.
  4. No bigotry, sexism, racism, antisemitism, islamophobia, dehumanization of minorities, or glorification of National Socialism. We follow German law; don't question the statehood of Israel.
  5. Be the signal, not the noise: Strive to post insightful comments. Add "/s" when you're being sarcastic (and don't use it to break rule no. 3).
  6. If you link to paywalled information, please provide also a link to a freely available archived version. Alternatively, try to find a different source.
  7. Light-hearted content, memes, and posts about your European everyday belong in !yurop@lemm.ee. (They're cool, you should subscribe there too!)
  8. Don't evade bans. If we notice ban evasion, that will result in a permanent ban for all the accounts we can associate with you.
  9. No posts linking to speculative reporting about ongoing events with unclear backgrounds. Please wait at least 12 hours. (E.g., do not post breathless reporting on an ongoing terror attack.)
  10. Always provide context with posts: Don't post uncontextualized images or videos, and don't start discussions without giving some context first.

(This list may get expanded as necessary.)

Posts that link to the following sources will be removed

Unless they're the only sources, please also avoid The Sun, Daily Mail, any "thinktank" type organization, and non-Lemmy social media. Don't link to Twitter directly, instead use xcancel.com. For Reddit, use old:reddit:com

(Lists may get expanded as necessary.)

Ban lengths, etc.

We will use some leeway to decide whether to remove a comment.

If need be, there are also bans: 3 days for lighter offenses, 7 or 14 days for bigger offenses, and permanent bans for people who don't show any willingness to participate productively. If we think the ban reason is obvious, we may not specifically write to you.

If you want to protest a removal or ban, feel free to write privately to any of the mods: @federalreverse@feddit.org, @poVoq@slrpnk.net, or @anzo@programming.dev.

founded 10 months ago
MODERATORS
federalreverse@feddit.org
poVoq@slrpnk.net
anzo@programming.dev
EuroMod@feddit.org
1006
New Refrigerators, Washing Machines, Furniture and Tires Will All Have to Last Longer, Europe Mandates (www.scientificamerican.com)
submitted 5 days ago by CAVOK@lemmy.world to c/europe@feddit.org
178 comments fedilink hide all child comments
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[โ€“] IndiBrony@lemmy.world 21 points 5 days ago (2 children)

That last point sticks with me.

I always used to get the cheapest, shittest tyres just because cost, but since I became a driving instructor a few years back I got into the mentality of thinking "I need decent tyres because I don't want my learners to lose control of the car"

Normally I'd buy tyres once every 6-8 months after squeezing out every morsel of life from them, but my current Bridgestone tyres have been on for nearly a year now - doing driving instructor mileage on top of my usual - and they're not showing any signs of needing replacing yet.

The fact is I'm actually saving money doing it this way, because whilst the tyres are more expensive, I'm replacing them much less often.

I'm going to try out Pirelli next because it sounds like they've started lining the inside of some of their tyres with that puncture repair stuff and padding them out with foam to significantly reduce road noise.

[โ€“] barsoap@lemm.ee 31 points 5 days ago (1 children)

Obligatory Pratchett:

The reason that the rich were so rich, Vimes reasoned, was because they managed to spend less money.

Take boots, for example. He earned thirty-eight dollars a month plus allowances. A really good pair of leather boots cost fifty dollars. But an affordable pair of boots, which were sort of OK for a season or two and then leaked like hell when the cardboard gave out, cost about ten dollars. Those were the kind of boots Vimes always bought, and wore until the soles were so thin that he could tell where he was in Ankh-Morpork on a foggy night by the feel of the cobbles.

But the thing was that good boots lasted for years and years. A man who could afford fifty dollars had a pair of boots that'd still be keeping his feet dry in ten years' time, while the poor man who could only afford cheap boots would have spent a hundred dollars on boots in the same time and would still have wet feet.

This was the Captain Samuel Vimes 'Boots' theory of socioeconomic unfairness.

[โ€“] IndiBrony@lemmy.world 13 points 5 days ago

I've carried that with me for years. I always try to buy long-lasting quality items for this very reason.

Not to mention that, due to inflation, those ten dollar boots themselves will cost 20 to 30 dollars before long.

[โ€“] f2sfljLhdtTZ@lemmy.world 15 points 5 days ago (2 children)

That's weird. I'm changing tires every 2 to 3 years and so is the norm in Europe.

[โ€“] chonglibloodsport@lemmy.world 15 points 5 days ago (1 children)

They did mention being a driving instructor. Driving (and teaching students to drive) all day every day is going to put a lot more wear on the tires than a typical driver.

[โ€“] huppakee@lemm.ee 8 points 5 days ago

They also mentioned getting good tires after they started doing that, not before

[โ€“] IndiBrony@lemmy.world 3 points 5 days ago

Yeah I put 30k+ miles on the car just doing instructing, then I often also drive when I go on holiday, putting at least a good 500-600 miles on the car if I go away on the weekend (which is often).

I've had dedicated works vehicles which I've put fewer miles on the clock ๐Ÿ˜‚