this post was submitted on 27 May 2025
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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 most popular seem to be lighthearted clever little truths, hidden in daily life.

Here are some examples to inspire your own showerthoughts:

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  2. The entire showerthought must be in the title
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    • 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
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23
the 'it' in 'it snows' doesn't refer to anything (lemmynsfw.com)
submitted 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
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I can't think of any other 'it' that is meaningless. 'It' normally refers to something in the sentences context. But in that and in the sentence 'it rains' there is nothing that 'it' could refer to. The sky doesn't snow, the weather doesn't snow and neither do the clouds.

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[–] [email protected] 22 points 3 days ago (1 children)

It's raining. It's cold outside. It is the case.

[–] [email protected] -5 points 3 days ago (3 children)

'It's raining' must refer to the same it as the one in 'it rains'. From that we can gather that the entity referred by 'it' must be quite capable as it can do the raining as well as be raining. However 'It's cold outside' could refer to the air as in the air is cold outside. Similarly the 'it' in 'it is the case' needs some context in a prior sentence or something else in the real world otherwise the sentence doesn't make sense.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago) (1 children)

The sentence does make sense, because all the speakers understand what it means. The context is implied, as another commenter linked to.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 3 days ago (1 children)

Which sentence do you mean?

[–] [email protected] 5 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago)

the one you were talking about not making sense: "it is the case"

you're both kinda agreeing on the same thing, whatever the "it" is, is understood through context. which when you lack said context, the sentence becomes nonsensical

[–] [email protected] 1 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago)

"It raining" only makes sense if it's Bubba saying it. In which case he means "It is raining." He just doesn't speak English well.

"It raining, y'all!" - Bubba