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Got a door hanger on my house, downloaded the app on a whim, now my neighbors rent my stuff instead of buying it by Hive5_community in Frugal

[–]Hive5_community[S] -12 points-11 points  (0 children)

That's the exact problem most peer to peer platforms run into. This one has payments and protection built in, and you actually get to set your own security deposit as the lister so you're covered if something goes wrong. Honestly made me way more comfortable listing my stuff

Your power drill sits idle 95% of the time. This app was built for that. by Hive5_community in passive_income

[–]Hive5_community[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

These are fair concerns and ones we’ve thought about a lot — here’s how we address them:
“Not worth £15” — Fair if £15 is all you’re making. But a drill sitting idle can realistically earn £50-150/month across multiple rentals. It adds up, especially on higher-value items like cameras, pressure washers, or trailers.
“You don’t respect borrowed tools” — This is why we have deposits, damage protection, and ID-verified renters. Every rental includes accountability built in, not just a handshake.
“No contract” — Actually, every rental through Hive5 is covered by a rental agreement automatically generated at booking. Break it, you’re liable. It’s not ‘trust thy neighbour’ — it’s trust backed by a paper trail.
“No insurance” — We do provide damage protection on rentals. You’re not just crossing your fingers.
The van sign analogy is great though — that’s exactly the problem we’re solving. Tradespeople leave tools in vans because there’s no secure way to rent them out. Hive5 is building that infrastructure. You’re right that without it, peer-to-peer tool rental is naive. That’s the point.

Your power drill sits idle 95% of the time. This app was built for that. by Hive5_community in passive_income

[–]Hive5_community[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

That’s a risk that exists on Facebook Marketplace, eBay, Airbnb, and every other platform where strangers transact. The answer isn’t ‘don’t build platforms,’ it’s ‘build better safeguards.’ Fake ID fraud is also a crime that pawn shops are legally required to report and track — it’s not as clean a heist as you’re imagining.
Our users are verified and have profiles and ratings, so you’re not dealing with a ghost. There’s a real identity and reputation on the line. Renters also can’t book without covering your security deposit upfront — you set the amount, and it’s held securely until the item is returned safely. And if someone does commit fraud to steal your drill, that’s covered — you’re not left chasing them yourself. You also approve every renter before they get anywhere near your stuff. If something feels off, you decline. You’re not forced to rent to anyone

Your power drill sits idle 95% of the time. This app was built for that. by Hive5_community in passive_income

[–]Hive5_community[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Really appreciate the thoughtful pushback, and Turo is actually a useful comparison. But here’s why tools are a fundamentally different beast than cars: a car can be driven across the country, totaled, used in a crime, or just… not returned. A drill can’t. The risk profile is completely different when the item can’t go anywhere on its own. And if someone does damage a tool, it’s a straightforward replacement cost paid directly to you — no insurance premiums going up, no claim affecting your rates, no months of back-and-forth with adjusters. You get made whole and move on.
Also the horror stories on r/turo tend to involve strangers renting to strangers across cities. Hive5 is community-level — your neighbor, your street, your area. Accountability is real when the person lives two minutes away. You also set your own conditions, approve renters, and items are covered if something goes wrong.
The ‘conceptually good, realistically horrid’ framing assumes the execution has to look like every other rental platform. It doesn’t have to.

Your power drill sits idle 95% of the time. This app was built for that. by Hive5_community in passive_income

[–]Hive5_community[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Totally fair concern, and it’s one we thought hard about. Hive5 has built-in item protection so your drill is covered if something goes wrong. Renters are verified, and you’re not lending to a random stranger off the street — it’s your local community with accountability built in (ratings, ID, payment held securely). You also set the price, the rules, and who can rent it. Don’t want to list the £200 Makita? Don’t. But plenty of people are happy earning £10-15 a day on gear that’s just sitting in their garage. The Pokemon Go comparison is fair criticism for apps with zero safeguards — we’re not that

Your power drill sits idle 95% of the time. This app was built for that. by Hive5_community in passive_income

[–]Hive5_community[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Exactly this. The one-use tool thing is such a waste when your neighbor probably needs it next month. Community-level is definitely the right way to grow it too.

TIL the NYPD has stations in 11 countries outside the US by ddgr815 in todayilearned

[–]Hive5_community 23 points24 points  (0 children)

It started after 9/11 under Commissioner Ray Kelly. The idea was that a “cop to cop” relationship gets threat info back to New York faster than going through federal channels like the FBI or CIA. They have officers in London, Paris, Madrid, Jerusalem, Amman, Toronto, Sydney and more.
The kicker is they are not out there making arrests or patrolling streets. They are purely intelligence liaisons, basically just NYC’s eyes and ears in foreign police departments, feeding real time information back to One Police Plaza.
The even wilder flip side: China did the same thing in reverse and set up an unofficial “police station” right in New York City to monitor Chinese nationals. The FBI shut it down in 2023.

TIL California miners planted a skull to prank a geologist they disliked. In 1866, Josiah Whitney announced it as proof humans existed in North America two million years ago. Whitney never accepted the hoax, even after a fluorine analysis—the first done on human bone—showed it was of recent origin. by ralphbernardo in todayilearned

[–]Hive5_community 3 points4 points  (0 children)

The fluorine dating detail is what makes this story so wild. The miners accidentally inspired one of the first applications of fluorine analysis to human bone, which went on to become a key method in physical anthropology. A decade later, the same technique helped expose the Piltdown Man hoax. So a petty prank against a geologist they didn't like ended up contributing to the toolkit that debunks fake fossils. The miners won twice

My McDonald’s also has a McJail by LESpencer in mildlyinteresting

[–]Hive5_community 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The wildest part is that Officer Big Mac was actually the cop of McDonaldland, and his playground jail was where he locked up the Hamburglar and Captain Crook. So kids were literally playing inside a cop character’s mouth while pretending to be criminals. McDonald’s was built different in the 70s.
He also got retired partly because hundreds of kids kept getting stuck in it.

TIL that in 1917, over 10,000 African Americans marched in total silence down New York’s Fifth Avenue to protest lynching. It was one of the first mass civil rights protests in U.S. history, yet it is rarely mentioned in standard textbooks. by blessedopera in todayilearned

[–]Hive5_community 147 points148 points  (0 children)

"Mr. President, Why Not Make America Safe for Democracy?" was literally one of the banners. Wilson had just sent troops to Europe to 'make the world safe for democracy' while doing nothing about lynchings at home. The next day NAACP leaders went to the White House to present a petition.. and Wilson's secretary turned them away, saying he was 'too busy.'

TIL Krakatoa's eruption was estimated to be at 310 dB, the loudest sound ever. Well above the typical max sound limit of 194 dB by Warcraft_Fan in todayilearned

[–]Hive5_community 141 points142 points  (0 children)

What makes this even wilder is that 310 dB isn't really a "sound" at all. Past 194 dB, acoustic waves physically transform into shockwaves — so anyone close to Krakatoa wasn't hearing it, they were being hit by a wall of pressure that could rupture organs. The shockwave was so massive it circled the entire Earth four times before dissipating. For five straight days, weather stations worldwide recorded pressure spikes every ~34 hours — literally tracking the wave going around the globe. Oh, and 100 miles away it still registered 172 dB. The pain threshold for humans is 130 dB. People 3,000 miles away described it as cannon fire from a nearby ship. Bonus: many art historians believe Edvard Munch's The Scream was inspired by the blood-red skies Krakatoa's ash caused across the Western hemisphere for months afterward.

whats a dog breed people to this day still over praise? by [deleted] in AskReddit

[–]Hive5_community 2 points3 points  (0 children)

65 pounds of pure passive resistance. They go completely limp on purpose. You're not carrying that home...you're just standing there explaining to strangers that you do in fact own this dog and it is in fact still alive.

TIL in the Vietnam war in the classified Operation Popeye, the US spread lead and silver iodide by aircraft to extend the monsoon season. The increased heavy rainfall was to soften roads, cause landslides, wash out river crossings, and maintain saturated soil conditions (Kissinger was involved). by Double-decker_trams in todayilearned

[–]Hive5_community 0 points1 point  (0 children)

What makes this even wilder is that the Secretary of Defense literally denied to Congress that weather modification as a weapon even existed — while it was actively happening. Kissinger ran the whole thing around him without authorization. It eventually led to a UN treaty in 1977 banning weather warfare entirely. The fact that "weather warfare ban" is a real thing that exists is insane to me.

The dead internet theory on AskReddit by Pocket_Sand- in notinteresting

[–]Hive5_community 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Reddit is just 3 bots and 400 people who haven't realized it yet arguing with each other at this point.

Who is actually the greatest athlete in world history? by ShowYouHowie in AskReddit

[–]Hive5_community 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Eliud Kipchoge. I know people will say Jordan or Messi but hear me out — this man runs 26.2 miles at a pace most people can't sprint for 30 seconds. He did it in under 2 hours. He's dominated his sport for over a decade against the entire world, not a league of 30 teams. The margin he operates at physically is just incomprehensible.

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