this post was submitted on 16 May 2025
130 points (94.5% liked)

Showerthoughts

34407 readers
948 users here now

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 most popular seem to be lighthearted clever little truths, hidden in daily life.

Here are some examples to inspire your own showerthoughts:

Rules

  1. All posts must be showerthoughts
  2. The entire showerthought must be in the title
  3. No politics
    • If your topic is in a grey area, please phrase it to emphasize the fascinating aspects, not the dramatic aspects. You can do this by avoiding overly politicized terms such as "capitalism" and "communism". If you must make comparisons, you can say something is different without saying something is better/worse.
    • A good place for politics is c/politicaldiscussion
  4. Posts must be original/unique
  5. Adhere to Lemmy's Code of Conduct and the TOS

If you made it this far, showerthoughts is accepting new mods. This community is generally tame so its not a lot of work, but having a few more mods would help reports get addressed a little sooner.

Whats it like to be a mod? Reports just show up as messages in your Lemmy inbox, and if a different mod has already addressed the report, the message goes away and you never worry about it.

founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
all 49 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[–] NONE_dc@lemmy.world 70 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (1 children)

Tell me you don't live in a Hispanic Country without telling me you don't live in a Hispanic Country.

[–] FenrirIII@lemmy.world 26 points 1 week ago (2 children)

It's not a thing in Brasil.

[–] Blackout@fedia.io 21 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Brasil is in Brasil America. We are talking about where all the latins live

[–] FenrirIII@lemmy.world 14 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Brazil is in Latin America. All the other countries are Hispanic America

[–] SomethingBurger@jlai.lu 7 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago) (1 children)

Poor Suriname, always forgotten...

[–] dubyakay@lemmy.ca 2 points 5 days ago

And my guess is we completely eliminate Guyana, because it considers itself Caribbean instead of South American anyway.

[–] NONE_dc@lemmy.world 19 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Damn, I really messed up. Thanks for the heads up.

[–] couch1potato@lemmy.dbzer0.com 8 points 6 days ago (1 children)

You're good. My wife is Mexican and she has the same first name as her mother.

[–] CarbonatedPastaSauce@lemmy.world 36 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Good. Let kids have their own identity. I've always cringed at the Ebeneezer Gortlegump IV's of the world.

What I have seen is it is much more common to have the firstborn daughter have a middle name of an ancestor, often grandmother.

[–] Aviandelight@mander.xyz 7 points 6 days ago

Can confirm myself, my mother, and my maternal grandmother all have the same middle name. Call it a southern thing I suppose. I killed the tradition by being childess and my younger sister refused to pass it to my niece.

[–] Xaphanos@lemmy.world 34 points 1 week ago (1 children)

My wife's g-grandmother was Mary. Her daughters were Mary Margaret, Mary Agnes, Mary Elizabeth, and Mary Alice. Newfies.

[–] slazer2au@lemmy.world 5 points 1 week ago (2 children)
[–] SplashJackson@lemmy.ca 13 points 6 days ago (1 children)

Newfies are Irish in the same way that Quebecois are French

[–] UntitledQuitting@reddthat.com 6 points 6 days ago

welcome to the rock

[–] Xaphanos@lemmy.world 2 points 5 days ago
[–] helmet91@lemmy.world 26 points 6 days ago (1 children)

I know someone who has the same name as her mother, and her grandmother. They all lived in the same household. Imagine, you call her name and all three of them listen.

I never understood this practice in general, regardless of gender. There are so many possibilities, sure it takes some creativity, but it's not that hard, come on.

[–] Donebrach@lemmy.world 3 points 6 days ago (1 children)

Never have I ever met a family with a shared name.

[–] starlinguk@lemmy.world 1 points 6 days ago

My family shares 5 names among everybody. 2 for the women, 3 for the men.

[–] jewbacca117@lemmy.world 23 points 6 days ago

I believe every woman is named after their mother. Usually by about 20 years or so.

[–] ArchmageAzor@lemmy.world 16 points 6 days ago (1 children)

This got me thinking about how there is no female equivalent of junior or senior

[–] Yermaw@lemm.ee 17 points 6 days ago (1 children)

I always assumed it would just be the same, but now that you mention it I've never met a female junior

[–] FenrirIII@lemmy.world 9 points 6 days ago (1 children)

That's what I was thinking

[–] TachyonTele@lemm.ee 2 points 6 days ago

Good shower thought!

[–] nagaram@startrek.website 16 points 1 week ago

Yes you have. They're just better about it.

I've met so many mother daughters, including my own mother and grandmother, who just alter their own name a little bit instead of going for a "Junior" type deal.

For instance, my Nana's name is Elizabeth but goes by beth. My mom is Eliza Beth-Ann but goes by Eliza or Liz.

(Also yes I'm from the south)

[–] Acamon@lemmy.world 14 points 6 days ago (1 children)

My mother, grandmother and great grandmother all have same name, but used different short forms to differentiate.

[–] starlinguk@lemmy.world 2 points 6 days ago (1 children)

Same, but also add my aunt and great aunt.

[–] xavier666@lemm.ee 1 points 4 days ago (1 children)
[–] starlinguk@lemmy.world 1 points 4 days ago

Margaret, Marge, Greta, Peggy, etc. ad infinitum.

[–] A_norny_mousse@feddit.org 13 points 1 week ago

Yet I'm sure they exist.

From some random article:

Naming a daughter after a mother isn’t a modern phenomenon; in some cultures, the tradition of matrilineal naming goes back centuries. In Ireland, and several other European countries, it was commonplace to name the first daughter after the maternal grandmother, the second daughter after the paternal grandmother, and the third daughter after the mother.

The practice is also prevalent in several Spanish-speaking countries, where it’s common to carry on both parents’ last names as well.

And then there's Iceland.

[–] jjpamsterdam@feddit.org 11 points 1 week ago (1 children)

The weirdest combination I've ever met was a set of female twins. One was named after their mother. The other had a different first name. Must have been really odd when growing up.

[–] Lost_My_Mind@lemmy.world 9 points 1 week ago

Should have given them both the same first name, and dressed them the same as kids. Taught them to speak together in the same voice. Then used them to committ tax fraud.

[–] wildcardology@lemmy.world 10 points 6 days ago

You've obviously haven't met every woman.

[–] TimewornTraveler@lemm.ee 7 points 6 days ago

obviously no one in your family is named Elizabeth

[–] InverseParallax@lemmy.world 5 points 6 days ago

Do middle names count?

Becauae I think all Swedish women have the middle name Anna.

[–] thesohoriots@lemmy.world 5 points 1 week ago

I know one, but it’s a little complicated. The woman is named Ann, and this is because when she was adopted at birth, the adoptive parents named her after the biological mother, also Ann. So yes and no.

[–] Knuschberkeks@leminal.space 4 points 1 week ago

My mother was named after her mother. It's the only instance I can think of though.

[–] 11111one11111@lemmy.world 4 points 6 days ago

I agree with all the sentiments in this thread about giving a kid their own identity and would never name my kid with my name even tho it could go to either sex depending on spelling. However the exception I would have to this sentiment is when someone names their kid after a deceased loved one. Usually would be the soon to be born kid's grandparent or great grandparents. So like if someone is best friends with their dad and their dad passes before their grandchild is born the person will name their kid after their late father. I dont think I know any specific person who did this with the first name, but I have seen it a ton with a person's middle name. I think its sweet and is a nice story to tell a child.

[–] Glitch@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 points 6 days ago

Me wife is a woman with her mother's first name as her middle name.

And of course my father in law is a fourth generation jr

[–] radix@lemmy.world 3 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Do middle names count? My grandmother's first name became my mother's middle name. Then my sister and her daughter also got that middle name.

[–] sxan@midwest.social 3 points 1 week ago

My sister was given my Grandmother's middle name as her first.

But I don't think those count. Many men are "Jr." OP's right, very few women are "Mom Jr." What would the suffix be? Junior? Is junior non-gendered? I think of it as a masculine suffix.

Good shower thought.

[–] moopet@sh.itjust.works 3 points 5 days ago (1 children)

My partner has the same name as her mother.

[–] ivanafterall@lemmy.world 9 points 5 days ago

Well, I've never met her.

[–] Curious_Canid@lemmy.ca 1 points 1 week ago

My mother was named after her mother, although she used her middle name. My sister was named after her. We're white midwesterners in the US.

[–] BeMoreCareful@lemmy.world 1 points 5 days ago

Would you call them junior?

[–] CetaceanNeeded@lemmy.world 1 points 4 days ago (1 children)

My mother has the same first name as her mother. I don't at all understand why, she has always just been called by her second name.

[–] thermal_shock@lemmy.world 1 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago)

My fiance has the same name AND same birthdate as her mom. Has really fucked her up, we had like 10 extra calls essentially calling her the wrong person and asking about her property when we were buying our home.

We get her fucking mail all the time. Like literally same name and dob make life pretty fucking annoying, just pure stupid.

[–] marito@lemmy.world 1 points 1 week ago

My mother's name is María, so are three of my sisters. Their middle names are different though.