this post was submitted on 07 Jul 2025
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[–] Tattorack@lemmy.world 48 points 6 days ago (2 children)

Steam engines.

The vast majority of our power comes from making something really hot and boiling water. Coal plant? Oil plant? Gas plant? Nuclear fission plant? Geothermal plant? The grand holy grail of energy production that would be a nuclear fusion plant? All steam engines.

Yes, unbeknownst to everyone, this is what a steampunk society realistically looks like.

[–] TheBat@lemmy.world 8 points 5 days ago

After first contact

A: These are our mini neutron star fusion reactors. The most advanced technology to have ever existed. We basically take a chunk of neutron star matter and divide it into two. We neutralize the negative effect and extreme gravity with our space-time bending gravity manipulation technology. We let the two mini neutro spheres accelerate and collide. This generates enough energy to power atleast 3 planets for 1000 cycles. Not onl--

H: Wait a minute. I have a question.

A: Please feel free to ask any questions.

H: How do you convert the raw energy generated into a usable form at that scale?

A: We use utlra high intensity lasers for energy transfer to plane--

H: No. That's not what I'm asking. How do you convert the raw energy at reactor into a usable form?

A: ...

H: ...

A: We boil water wi--

H: Motherf-- enrages and loses sanity


Stolen from reddit.

[–] exasperation@lemmy.dbzer0.com 13 points 6 days ago

We made steampunk a reality by developing the technology to transfer steam power efficiently over long distances through metal wires.

[–] RBWells@lemmy.world 11 points 5 days ago

Radio. I still listen to radio over the airwaves, and received by an antenna, as it has been done since 1920.

Bicycles are not much different since around 1900.

[–] wildcardology@lemmy.world 19 points 6 days ago (3 children)
[–] LovableSidekick@lemmy.world 11 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago) (1 children)

So does pretty much the whole banking and credit industry. When you get money out of an ATM there's usually some COBOL code involved.

[–] theherk@lemmy.world 5 points 6 days ago (1 children)

True, we stack old technologies on top of older technologies, and somewhere at the bottom, there is z/OS with COBOL running. A young person right now learning COBOL has a secure future with big paychecks.

[–] LovableSidekick@lemmy.world 5 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago)

Depends on your tolerance for code spelunking. Back in the 90s I was encouraged to do Y2K prep because I had some COBOL experience, but I really hated pawing through old code. To be fair, COBOL was designed to be self documenting and English-like. But I'm glad I got into web dev instead back then. It was right at the dawn of "dynamic HTML" when web pages started actually doing things. Very cool time. Right now I'd be more inclined to go into helping companies recover from failed AI projects.

[–] exasperation@lemmy.dbzer0.com 11 points 6 days ago

That's not even a government thing. It's a finance/banking thing, as most major banks are still using mainframes and legacy COBOL code for most of their business logic.

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[–] Fedditor385@lemmy.world 21 points 6 days ago (4 children)

Fax, still in official use in Germany.

[–] Baggie@lemmy.zip 9 points 6 days ago (7 children)

It's considered a secure method of document transfer over email, despite email being able to be secured and fax can be hacked with like a length of wire and a knife. Fucking irks me.

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[–] dingus@lemmy.world 6 points 6 days ago

Very common in the US medical field as well

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[–] bfg9k@lemmy.world 8 points 6 days ago (1 children)

Pagers.

Still in use by hospitals and emergency services

[–] Therobohour@lemmy.world 3 points 5 days ago
[–] captain_aggravated@sh.itjust.works 5 points 6 days ago (2 children)

General Aviation is still using magnetos. The typical GA airplane is hilariously primitive.

[–] bfg9k@lemmy.world 4 points 6 days ago (1 children)

NOOO I NEED LEADED FUEL CAUSE MY LYCOMING IS FROM THE 60s 😭😭

If you buy a brand new Skyhawk here in the space year 2025, it will come with a newly made Lycoming IO-360 that requires 100LL. I think they're still working on eliminating leaded avgas, I think because the Trump regime hasn't noticed it yet.

[–] roscoe@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 points 5 days ago (1 children)

Yeah, it's so hilarious to want an engine that will continue to run after a complete electrical system failure at 10000ft.

Fuck 100LL though.

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[–] Spacehooks@reddthat.com 7 points 6 days ago (2 children)

The sewing machine. Like we got 3d printers than can give me whatever I want in 20 hrs but I still got to fight with a sewing machine to stitch an outfit. Like why no polyester clothes printer?

[–] mnemonicmonkeys@sh.itjust.works 11 points 6 days ago

For one, polyester fabric and clothes are just terrible

Two, technically you can 3d print a chainmail shirt, but it'd suck to wear normally

[–] AngryCommieKender@lemmy.world 5 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago)

We have knitting machines, and automated looms (weaving machines,) we even have sergers for fancy sewing. Its just plain easier to make the finished product as a custom job since humans aren't uniform in size, and it's way easier to weave a rectangular piece of cloth than any other shape.

[–] BonesOfTheMoon@lemmy.world 2 points 5 days ago (1 children)

Fax machines will never die no matter how they are mocked. It simply is the easiest way to send documents with private information and it's fast. At least we have e-faxing now to receive documents.

[–] CanadaPlus@lemmy.sdf.org 1 points 5 days ago (1 children)

Please don't tell me you buy that "they can't be hacked". It's pretty much on the same tier as email.

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

Not so much they can't be hacked, but that nobody seems to bother to.

[–] CanadaPlus@lemmy.sdf.org 1 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago) (1 children)

Well, I don't really love that as a security philosophy. If it's somehow not going on now it will be soon.

[–] BonesOfTheMoon@lemmy.world 1 points 3 days ago

I've never heard of it happening in my 20 years of faxing if that helps at all.

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

Welcome to "That's not surprising at all!"

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