If shoelaces always come untied and headphone wires always get tangled, why don't they make shoelaces out of headphone wires and headphone wires out of shoelaces?

5 months ago by someone to c/showerthoughts

FiskFisk33 99 points 5 months ago

Entropy always increases.

There's one way for a cable to be untangled, and an incalculable amount of ways for it to be tangled. When letting it randomly change state it is very improbable for it to randomly end up in the untangled state.

Same for shoelaces, there is but a few ways for the shoes to be properly knot, and a comparatively essentially infinite ways for them not to be.

I know it's a joke, but I find this perspective fascinating.

path: 0 23607595, hotness: undefined, score: 99, children: 10
someone 31 points 5 months ago

This is why I hate math ;-;

path: 0 23607595 23607608, hotness: undefined, score: 31, children: 4
FiskFisk33 23 points 5 months ago

this is why I love it!

path: 0 23607595 23607608 23607628, hotness: undefined, score: 23, children: 0
zwerg 11 points 5 months ago

Just as well that this is physics then!

path: 0 23607595 23607608 23607926, hotness: undefined, score: 11, children: 2
sylver_dragon 9 points 5 months ago path: 0 23607595 23607608 23607926 23608799, hotness: undefined, score: 9, children: 1
zwerg 4 points 5 months ago

Yeah... But I know of no purely mathematical theory that predicts entropy - this really is a physics thing.

path: 0 23607595 23607608 23607926 23608799 23609890, hotness: undefined, score: 4, children: 0
masterspace 7 points 5 months ago

The danger of an over simplified model.

path: 0 23607595 23610736, hotness: undefined, score: 7, children: 0
Blue_Morpho 5 points 5 months ago

If it was just infinite ways for shoelaces to improperly knot then headphones would also not properly knot and easily untangle by pulling one end. But that doesn't happen.

The difference is from the physics of lengths of string/wire and the shoelaces are under tension while headphone wires aren't.

path: 0 23607595 23609123, hotness: undefined, score: 5, children: 3
FiskFisk33 4 points 5 months ago

shoelaces can be a tangled mess yet not properly knotted

path: 0 23607595 23609123 23616063, hotness: undefined, score: 4, children: 0
AHemlocksLie 3 points 5 months ago

Shoelaces have a "proper" knot while headphones do not. If we were tying our shoes into the abominations I pull out of my pocket, maybe that'd play out differently.

path: 0 23607595 23609123 23610102, hotness: undefined, score: 3, children: 1
Blue_Morpho 2 points 5 months ago

I wouldn't care as much if shoelaces tangled themselves into a knot that took extra work to untie.

I have some laces that I double tie and they still untie themselves.

path: 0 23607595 23609123 23610102 23616476, hotness: undefined, score: 2, children: 0
Iconoclast 40 points 5 months ago

Most people only think that they know how to tie their shoes but they're doing the so-called "granny knot" which is why it unties itself.

It could also just be a lack of imagination too:

path: 0 23607438, hotness: undefined, score: 40, children: 9
NABDad 15 points 5 months ago

[slaps shoe]

"That ain't goin' nowhere!"

path: 0 23607438 23608000, hotness: undefined, score: 15, children: 0
waldfee 9 points 5 months ago path: 0 23607438 23609767, hotness: undefined, score: 9, children: 3
lemmyman 2 points 5 months ago

What a fantastic website

path: 0 23607438 23609767 23611334, hotness: undefined, score: 2, children: 0
DamienGramatacus 2 points 5 months ago

I was thinking of this when I saw the post. I only properly understood the granny knot recently and since changing how I tie my laces, they very rarely untie now. That Ian chap showed a particular knot that he claimed never comes undone and I can attest to that.

path: 0 23607438 23609767 23613550, hotness: undefined, score: 2, children: 0
funkless_eck 1 point 5 months ago

I do the "Secure Ian Knot" (loop, second loop, cross them over, right goes towards you, through the hole away from you, left goes away from you, back through the hole towards you - pull)

Super easy to learn, and never looked back.

path: 0 23607438 23609767 23622009, hotness: undefined, score: 1, children: 0
Kalothar 3 points 5 months ago

I put these on my running shoes and they work great:

path: 0 23607438 23611133, hotness: undefined, score: 3, children: 1
Iconoclast 2 points 5 months ago

But zipties can withstand being showered with sparks from angle grinder.

path: 0 23607438 23611133 23611378, hotness: undefined, score: 2, children: 0
fleem 2 points 5 months ago

bro better have they damn flush cuts up in this bitch

path: 0 23607438 23611199, hotness: undefined, score: 2, children: 1
Iconoclast 2 points 5 months ago

I've been heavily considering investing in the Knipex micro flush cut side cutters but 30 euros is a heavy investment for someone with zipties for shoelaces.

path: 0 23607438 23611199 23611448, hotness: undefined, score: 2, children: 0
SolacefromSilence 19 points 5 months ago

Holy shit, they've solved it!

path: 0 23608803, hotness: undefined, score: 19, children: 1
Onomatopoeia 8 points 5 months ago

And a real shower thought!

path: 0 23608803 23609869, hotness: undefined, score: 8, children: 0
Battle_Masker 13 points 5 months ago

Have you tried putting your shoe laces in your pocket? That'll keep em tied

path: 0 23612763, hotness: undefined, score: 13, children: 0
unexposedhazard 13 points 5 months ago

They do make headphone cables like that. Its those fabric sleeved, slightly stiff ones. Those dont get tangled.

path: 0 23607727, hotness: undefined, score: 13, children: 4
kamenlady 6 points 5 months ago

I had some of those, but they made a horrible sound when moving and the cables touched any clothing. But yeah, no tangling.

path: 0 23607727 23607830, hotness: undefined, score: 6, children: 1
unexposedhazard 4 points 5 months ago

Yeah that happens if there is no section at the end that decouples vibrations in the cable from the earpiece.

path: 0 23607727 23607830 23608054, hotness: undefined, score: 4, children: 0
HeHoXa 4 points 5 months ago

Friends smarter than me assure me these are more likely to... whattaya call it when the wire breaks inside the sleeve... that.

... I still like them.

path: 0 23607727 23615423, hotness: undefined, score: 4, children: 1
HeyThisIsntTheYMCA 1 point 5 months ago

Short?

path: 0 23607727 23615423 23624881, hotness: undefined, score: 1, children: 0
toofpic 12 points 5 months ago

All my life, I was tying the knot "wrong side up", so it was untying. I was checking out a videonon how to tie high boots the easiest way, and the problem was mentioned. Now nothing ever happens to them.
It's hard to explain in details, so here's a quick check if your shoes are untying themselves. When you start tying, you hold two loops in your hands and cross them, putting one above the other, right? Well, this time, put them the other way around (left on right if it was right on left), and finish the same way you always did it.
You will immediately feel that the knot is not slipping. This is because you also do the first simple knot in a certain way, and first and the main knot has to be different relative to each other

path: 0 23607379, hotness: undefined, score: 12, children: 4
Hjalamanger 7 points 5 months ago

It's the difference between a square knot and a calf knot. Here they are (without the extra loops, they just allow for easy untying)

Squar knot, good

Granny knot, bad

path: 0 23607379 23607427, hotness: undefined, score: 7, children: 1
toofpic 1 point 5 months ago

ah, so the first plus the second knot are forming one of those two you linked to?

path: 0 23607379 23607427 23615130, hotness: undefined, score: 1, children: 0
lime 4 points 5 months ago

i managed the opposite. had no problem tying my shoes, then watched a video because i wasn't sure i was doing it like everyone else, and that made me lose the ability to tie my shoes for a few years. had to sit down and really think through the steps to get it back.

path: 0 23607379 23607609, hotness: undefined, score: 4, children: 0
Whostosay 3 points 5 months ago

Those motherfuckers never told me.

path: 0 23607379 23611746, hotness: undefined, score: 3, children: 0
StillAlive 7 points 5 months ago path: 0 23607961, hotness: undefined, score: 7, children: 0
observes_depths 6 points 5 months ago

For those who can't be bothered looking up the difference between a double-slipped granny knot and a double-slipped reef knot, tie the first and second knots with different ends of the string on top (eg. right over left, then left over right). If you do it right it will hold, no need for a double knot.

As for earphones (does anyone even use those anymore?) push them into a small pouch, start from one end and work your way along, pull them out the same way (it's quicker than it sounds).

path: 0 23608570, hotness: undefined, score: 6, children: 6
Onomatopoeia -3 points 5 months ago

Who bothers with wired headphones these days?

path: 0 23608570 23609874, hotness: undefined, score: -3, children: 5
Hisse 4 points 5 months ago

this is either sarcastic or im being left behind by society

path: 0 23608570 23609874 23611214, hotness: undefined, score: 4, children: 2
Individual_Orchid 5 points 5 months ago

My corded headphone batteries never die

path: 0 23608570 23609874 23611214 23611289, hotness: undefined, score: 5, children: 1
FishFace 3 points 5 months ago

I think I'd have to pay 5x the price to get equivalent sound quality for wireless headphones. Having to untangle the wire every time I use them is worth that.

path: 0 23608570 23609874 23611214 23611289 23612215, hotness: undefined, score: 3, children: 0
agent_nycto 3 points 5 months ago

Cheaper, no battery to charge, harder to lose... Not sure why people bother with wireless

path: 0 23608570 23609874 23613319, hotness: undefined, score: 3, children: 0
Ioughttamow 1 point 5 months ago

For working out or casual listening with chores, yeah cordless for sure, but otherwise corded all day, ALL DAY

path: 0 23608570 23609874 23614052, hotness: undefined, score: 1, children: 0
Dallimjp 6 points 5 months ago

You're probably tying your shoes wrong. The knot you want is a double slipped square knot. If you tie it that way it never comes undone.

path: 0 23624535, hotness: undefined, score: 6, children: 1
HeyThisIsntTheYMCA 1 point 5 months ago

Or a monkey knot. Those you can leave tied for a year and turn your shoes into slip ons

path: 0 23624535 23624836, hotness: undefined, score: 1, children: 0
Robotunicorn 5 points 5 months ago path: 0 23621131, hotness: undefined, score: 5, children: 2
InFerNo 4 points 5 months ago

What an obnoxious website.

path: 0 23621131 23623914, hotness: undefined, score: 4, children: 1
HeyThisIsntTheYMCA 4 points 5 months ago

At least they tell us right up front they went on shark tank so we know to buy other laces

path: 0 23621131 23623914 23624857, hotness: undefined, score: 4, children: 0
notabot 5 points 5 months ago

Now this is the big brain thinking I come to the fediverse for!

path: 0 23608185, hotness: undefined, score: 5, children: 0
remon 4 points 5 months ago

Do people really have that problem with shoelaces? I tied mine almost a year ago and they're holding up fine.

path: 0 23607264, hotness: undefined, score: 4, children: 3
boobs_ 5 points 5 months ago

One of my shoelaces has stayed for 2 or so years now, the other comes apart every few weeks. It's pretty annoying cause I feel like I'm tying it well enough and I haven't been able to find anything that might be forcefully pulling it apart. But hey maybe I got it right this last time and it'll stick for 2 years

path: 0 23607264 23607478, hotness: undefined, score: 5, children: 2
Wolf314159 4 points 5 months ago

It's never to late to relearn a suboptimal skill you thought you knew. I believe I found this site several decades after being taught the standard shoe lace knot and a child. That one ALWAYS needed a second knot to keep my laces tied. Now I tie either the two loop knot "bunny ears" or Ian's Secure Shoelace knot. Both are balanced so the knots always stays tied and both can be pulled apart and undone with a simple tug at both free ends of the shoelace. Haven't tied my laces the way my parents taught me ever since.

path: 0 23607264 23607478 23607585, hotness: undefined, score: 4, children: 1
Admetus 2 points 5 months ago

Haha, I love how a guy called Ian made a 'secure shoelace knot'

path: 0 23607264 23607478 23607585 23607784, hotness: undefined, score: 2, children: 0
MutantTailThing 3 points 5 months ago

#TeamVelcro

path: 0 23607989, hotness: undefined, score: 3, children: 0
LuminousLuddite 3 points 5 months ago
path: 0 23610198, hotness: undefined, score: 3, children: 1
someone 1 point 5 months ago

Somewhere in the world...

Hint: Inside the shower room.

path: 0 23610198 23616974, hotness: undefined, score: 1, children: 0
homes 2 points 5 months ago

They tried that, and during the early 2000s, teenagers were hanging themselves with iPod headphone wires. That’s why Apple invented Bluetooth— so people like you could torture everyone else with existentialism

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

path: 0 23608190, hotness: undefined, score: 2, children: 0
showerthoughts
showerthoughts

@lemmy.world

login for more options
44054
4155
5693

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.

go to feed...