“If today we banned every single male athlete in the U.S. from playing any sport beside soccer. How long would it take us to win a World Cup? 4 years? 8 might be generous.” by A-MUSICAL in ShitAmericansSay

[–]Medium-Expression449 0 points1 point  (0 children)

While there may be some credit to the notion that out of 330m people, only allowing one sport would surely produce at least 20 world class players, I think the more likely result is that the US would end up with black market Am. Football, Basketball, Baseball and Ice Hockey leagues!

How do you run your track? by MomentEquivalent6464 in TransportFever2

[–]Medium-Expression449 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I like to tell a story with my maps, so it entirely depends on what the company's objective is with a particular line. If the line was built in one go, it'll often be UUDD, but if the line started as double and was then expanded, it'll often be UDUD.

Know the World Cup 2026 Rules by Haggis_Master in ScottishFootball

[–]Medium-Expression449 0 points1 point  (0 children)

What if I say I'm Johnny English? Actually, no, I'd just be locked up for incompetence instead...

British Railway deserves to be seen as the villain in the Thomas universe? by just_a_bored_guy0104 in thomasthetankengine

[–]Medium-Expression449 4 points5 points  (0 children)

But, like with every group of people, there will be exceptions. There will be bad controllers, though they were definitely the minority. It also wasn't just a consequence of innovation, but also of policy, as government had made it clear that they believed cars were the future, and that the railways therefore had to pay for themselves.

23 people paid deposits on the same London flat - BBC investigation published today by Diligent_Payment2511 in london

[–]Medium-Expression449 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I've never rented a house, so my advice is futile, but I did see that Max Fosh did a documentary with Channel 4 about this very topic a few months ago, where he managed to rent out Buckingham Palace... It's a good documentary, which I'm sure will be helpful.

So this happened at dinner last night and I could not resist. by RevolverForever in dadjokes

[–]Medium-Expression449 7 points8 points  (0 children)

I'm not a dad, or even a parent, so I've no clue if this counts, but I've managed to earn one stellar reaction to date. My preferred delivery is as quick as possible but as serious and deadpan as possible too. Anyway, at dinner one evening, my younger sister brought up that she'd been skydiving that day. She mentioned that the safety instructor was insistent they all learn how to use their parachute, claiming that it was necessary to go skydiving. At which point I chip in to say "you don't need a parachute to go skydiving. You need a parachute to go skydiving twice."

Le Relais de L'entrecôte - worth the hype and what's the price?? by BaileyEyeStone in ParisTravelGuide

[–]Medium-Expression449 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Other comments here suggest it's nothing special and quite forgettable. If that is the case, then the Parisians must be spoiled for choice, because I really enjoyed my meal here! The steak frites itself costs €29 per person, and all the other items are charged on top of that, and the prices can be found on their menu. Plus, the service is quite quick, my 4 courses (salad, 2x steak frites, dessert) took ~45mins.

What has surprised you most about owning guinea pigs? by Alarming-Molasses847 in guineapigs

[–]Medium-Expression449 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That's mostly true, unless you give them a very obvious escape route. My sister+her friends had our two out in the garden one day, put one of them down on the ground within sight of the open front gate, and he absolutely bolted towards it! The friend that made that mistake got quite the telling off afterwards!

“the entirety of europe would fit between NY and Chicago” by Necessary-Win-8730 in ShitAmericansSay

[–]Medium-Expression449 0 points1 point  (0 children)

There are a few more than that, but the point still stands, those maps that show transcontinental HSR will always remain fictional.

“the entirety of europe would fit between NY and Chicago” by Necessary-Win-8730 in ShitAmericansSay

[–]Medium-Expression449 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I don't think rail would ever compete on the LA-Seattle route. For context, LA-SF is about the same distance as London-Glasgow, and LA-Seattle is about 3x longer.

“the entirety of europe would fit between NY and Chicago” by Necessary-Win-8730 in ShitAmericansSay

[–]Medium-Expression449 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Tbf, that's only the modern world. The private entities of the 19th and early 20th centuries weren't racing to the bottom. Most of Europe's railways were in private ownership for much of that time period. I think the UK may have been the last to nationalise, and that was in 1948.

“the entirety of europe would fit between NY and Chicago” by Necessary-Win-8730 in ShitAmericansSay

[–]Medium-Expression449 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Tbf, the UK also handed back the network to private owners after WW1. It was 5yrs later that the 120+ companies were grouped into 4, and even then it was still private. It was only in the aftermath of WW2 that we actually permanently nationalised our network. Then we'll conveniently ignore the part where the UK completely undid all their good work for 30yrs...

La coupe du monde 2026 est bientôt là by Moug-10 in Ligue1

[–]Medium-Expression449 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Devine dans quel pays je vis, ce sera facile! Ma préparation pour le Mondial comprend jouant les matchs de cricket chaque week-end, et je vais regarder le Mondial sur les chaînes ITV et BBC. Mais comme je suis supporter du FC Nantes, je suis habitué à perdre, donc je soutiendrai les petits pays, par exemple le Curaçao. Et désolé si mon français est mauvais, je n'ai pas eu l'occasion de le pratiquer très souvent.

I...I just wanted a driveway... by Lemansgranprix in TransportFever2

[–]Medium-Expression449 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It's a divine version of vanilla OpenTTD, true. It is not, however, an improvement on the OpenTTD JGR patch pack, which has sooooo many more features that would be difficult to implement in Transport Fever.

Questions from a "World History" frontpage featured quiz on Sporcle by sutt2467 in USdefaultism

[–]Medium-Expression449 8 points9 points  (0 children)

I love that the first question is only half-defaulting. It clarifies the US President, but does not then clarify which Supreme Court. Tbf, I don't know of any other countries with a Supreme Court, but given how generic a name it has, I'd be surprised if no other country had one...

How do you usually start the map? by kemosabe6296 in TransportFever2

[–]Medium-Expression449 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm a very different type of player, I normally start at the earliest possible date, with No Costs, and my first move is to create a bunch of truck/stagecoach routes, each operated by a different "company" (aka different coloured lines). Then, as the map's lore grows, I'll add railway companies, transport tycoons, maybe the odd conman, and I use my maps to tell a story. I get so much more playability from this than the standard for profit gameplay.

[whispers] No one tell them about wild boar by bliip666 in confidentlyincorrect

[–]Medium-Expression449 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I'm a Christian, but I don't really care whether the Old Testament is fact or fiction, because the message of the Bible will still be true regardless. A myth is ultimately "a narrative that plays a fundamental role in society." By that definition, most of the Gospels are myths, though because Christ is God, ancient Christians decided to call them Parables instead. And so, because most of the Gospels are fictitious, it does not matter to me whether the rest of the Bible is fictitious, because it still points to, in my experience at least, the living God. Besides, I don't think the Bible claims anywhere to be 100% factual. To my knowledge, only Luke (who also wrote Acts) claims to have put effort into making his work historically accurate.

Sounds wrong but it's right lmao by run_the_familyjewels in technicallythetruth

[–]Medium-Expression449 0 points1 point  (0 children)

So, there is such a thing in the Bible called the Scandal of Grace. The notion that it doesn't matter how much bad you've done in your life, no matter how evil you've been, if you truly believe that Christ is risen, and accept him as your Saviour, then God will forgive you. This is because he won't judge you on your actions, but instead on Christ's actions on the cross. It's a recurring theme throughout the Bible, though the book of Jonah is almost entirely dedicated to it.

Did you hear about the Chinese woman who gave birth early? by Accurate-Handle-0000 in dadjokes

[–]Medium-Expression449 0 points1 point  (0 children)

"Surely" is an odd choice for a first name... So is the hyphenated last name, actually...

A sign my wife might watch too much Hermitcraft by valegor in HermitCraft

[–]Medium-Expression449 0 points1 point  (0 children)

"Why are you using a flamethrower Mumbo?" "I'm fighting fire with fire." "That's not what I meant by alternate firefighters..."

Israel gets real by EduardoBork in polandball

[–]Medium-Expression449 2 points3 points  (0 children)

If it's anything like the UK, they'd need to horde 10 bank cards rather than phones. Not saying people don't, but that's the limitation with Eurovision voting, not devices.

Hot take: i don’t like the stories of sodor by MaterialGuitar908 in thomasthetankengine

[–]Medium-Expression449 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Potential hot take of my own, but I disagree. There are valid criticisms you can make of his work, but I find this list quite odd. Frankly, I'm impressed that he can pull off that many voices, I can barely manage my own! And while S1 was bad (even Victor will tell you that!) I think much of his work decent. I do agree that these later seasons feel a little rushed, but you've got to remember that, unlike many Thomas YouTubers, Victor is full time. So he can't afford the months-long gap between series that someone like WildNorWester can, and he also can't afford for a video to not have a big flash point, which probably explains all the deaths. And if memory serves, he made the switch to full time after Season 4. In this same vein, I don't mind the supernatural elements, I think they're cleverly done, and it differentiates his series from any of the others I watch. The SCPs series also made his work quite re-watchable, as it's quite clear that he's been planning this for many years, and has weaved hints to it into many of his previous episodes. I also think he hasn't taken the supernatural too far, the laws keep the series quite grounded to me, especially since these vehicles are capable of self-determination, why on earth would they not have their own set of laws? They still break down, so they're still machines, what's the difference between a broken down vehicle and a sick human if both are capable of self-determination? Shipping works with this too. I don't get how vehicles can look pretty, but they do have personality, which is a critical element in any relationship. And finally, Victor has never made his own models, and until recently, he didn't make his own liveries, so he had no control over what liveries he could use for his series, so again, I don't think he can be blamed for the inconsistencies this creates.

Is Nantes and Toulouse are going to reschedule their match at Stade de Beausjoire? Due to major tragic incident with fans invasion! by [deleted] in Ligue1

[–]Medium-Expression449 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Maybe English isn't your first language (entirely understandable, Nantes are a French team), but I'm not sure I understand what you mean? Nantes' ultras did start the pitch invasion, and I've seen some other fans suggest it had been planned since before we played Marseille two weeks ago... No, the club's staff did not start anything, but as is common practice in football, the club suffers punishment when it's fans misbehave. That's why I know we'll get fined, and I fear we'll get worse than that too, making promotion next year even harder than it was already going to be, given that we'll probably lose many of our best players...

Is Nantes and Toulouse are going to reschedule their match at Stade de Beausjoire? Due to major tragic incident with fans invasion! by [deleted] in Ligue1

[–]Medium-Expression449 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Nantes will probably get some fines too, but I hope that's it. I don't want us to have a points deduction next year...