this post was submitted on 13 Aug 2023
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Showerthoughts

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A "Showerthought" is a simple term used to describe the thoughts that pop into your head while you're doing everyday things like taking a shower, driving, or just daydreaming. The best ones are thoughts that many people can relate to and they find something funny or interesting in regular stuff.

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Like, I'm on a plane. I don't want to watch Toy Story when I can do that at home, I want to see what the pilots see. And that way every seat has technically a window to look out of.

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[–] paysrenttobirds 71 points 1 year ago (8 children)

I love to have a window seat and just can't take my eyes off the landscape below. It's so amazing to see the plan of farms and cities, the aquaducts and rivers, the crinkled mountains deserts and coastline. Sometimes you can see the shadow of your own plane trace along the ground. Try to guess which lake this is. I guess a night flight is boring.

[–] [email protected] 23 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Ever since I took an atmospheric science class I've come to love the view even when we're above the clouds. I try to identify cloud formations and guess whether it might be raining/snowing below. Seeing a big ol' cumulonimbus from that vantage point is cool as hell.

Also, seeing the wing control surfaces moving.

[–] [email protected] 18 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Me on my flight from Seoul to Stockholm: "oh look, grassy plains. I must be over Russia!"
13 hours later: "oh would you look at that, more grassy plains, still over Russia 😒" Flying over Russia is like flying over the ocean except it's grass.

[–] Mouselemming 5 points 1 year ago

Sounds like driving through Kansas.

[–] [email protected] 13 points 1 year ago

Agree. Ocean flights are boring as well.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I really enjoy watching the features of the desert when I fly to Vegas. You can almost see the geographic history of how the grand canyon came about. I love the dried up river beds that look like ancient crooked highways.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 1 year ago

I fly from Indianapolis to Los Angeles once a year and love this as well. See the topography change over plains states…sometimes the Rocky Mountains if there is a layover in Denver or something. The Grand Canyon and cool landscapes in Utah. Maybe over Vegas/desert…Death Valley. The Sierra Nevada mountain range and “high desert” in California. Then the Pacific Ocean. Kind of amazing and people take it for granted.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 1 year ago

If only my neck wouldn't hurt so much after staring

[–] Mouselemming 6 points 1 year ago (1 children)

On night flights there's mysterious patterns of lights on the ground. What town is this, is that a stadium? Why is there one solitary light in the middle of nowhere? Why are the streetlights yellowish over there and pinkish over there?

[–] paysrenttobirds 2 points 1 year ago

You're right, and even flying into my hometown trying to orient based on the freeways

[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 year ago

Passing over mountains is the best!

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago

Or the water... the endless water, when you fly over the Atlantic ;)