High quality faucets (the ones which are expensive) usually do not leak. My girlfriend and I found that out the hard way. After moving in we built the kitchen and then we went and bought the cheapest IKEA faucet the store had to offer (back then for just 10 €), thinking “what could happen, it is just a faucet”.

It turned out that this faucet leaked water, even when closed. But it was so little that one didn’t notice. It went over years. All that leaking water eventually seeped into the countertop, along the hole where the sink is built in, where the material (particle board) of the countertop is exposed. Now our whole countertop is puffy and has been expanded because of the water seeping into the particle board.

We bought an expensive faucet after that, but it doesn’t attach to the countertop so well, because its surface is uneven due to the water seeping into the countertop. During summer, when the countertop dries out and decreases in thickness due to higher temperatures the new faucet comes loose. Until we get a new countertop we then have to deliberately wet the countertop where the faucet sticks out so that it can expand to tighten the faucet again.

Thats why (good) faucets are expensive - you pay for peace of mind partially.

But I live in Los Angeles where the people I know will feel shame on my behalf due to the car I drive.

Maybe your people should pitch in for a new ride on your behalf then, instead of yourself.

German cars are deliberately over-engineered to increase repairing costs. They fail less often than cheaper cars, but when they do, it’s time to check your covering on your bank account, because that’s gonna cost you.

Home improvement stores do the same illogical placement of their goods: If you want to buy a shovel, you would that shovel expect to be located in the aisle with the garden tools, right? Wrong! Of course, it is located in the timber isle, because the handle is made of wood - that’s what they probably thought.

Where I live supermarkets have coffee and smoothie vending machines, so you can have an in-store-coffee while you are buying your groceries. They have it installed to keep you longer in their store, hoping that you buy stuff you didn’t need in the first place.

This can of pineapple slices has been found in the back of the food cabinet in December 2020. Its expiration date was in July 2017. I did not open it. I carefully removed the can outside right into the trash bin. I didi’t want to risk an explosion of this fruit bomb.

Same with (bottled) water. The same water that was around even before dinosaurs digested it, also has an expiration date. I assume it has to do with law: everything considered to be a food has to have an expiration date printed on it, no matter how ridiculous it seems.

• Bottle of Coke (unopened, stored without exposition to light) --> one year after exp. date
• Can of noodle soup (unopened) --> one year after exp. date
• dried noodles (unopened; the ones you have to cook before they are edible) --> unknown - at least one year after exp. date
• soft candy (unopened, but exposed to higher temperatures) --> 6 months after exp. date
• chocolate (unopened) --> 6 months after exp. date
• yoghurt (unopened, uninterrupted cooling chain) --> 2 weeks after exp. date

all of these food items were perfectly edible. The candy was a little bit less soft, as it was exposed to higher temperatures once, but they tasted as good as freshly bought.

Most things that have not been opened and/or have not been exposed to light or temperature extremes can be eaten safely way after the expiration date exceeded. But with dairy one has to be more cautios. A week or two past the expiration date shouldn’t be a problem, considering it has never been opened before and the cooliing chain has not been interrupted.

I wouldn’t risk meat or fish, tho. Food poisoning can be a nasty ordeal. I’d rather dispose of it than taking any risks.

Whenever I have a chance to watch cable tv occaionally, I am astonished how many commercials there are and that, before the inception of the internet, everyone put up with commercials that lasted for about 10 minutes. And seemingly still do.

Today, when using the internet exclusively, one gets annoyed by maximum when there is one single ad that slipped through the ad blocker.

I have an old cassatte player (mid-90s) that is capable of recognizing the tracks, if there is a gap of at least 2 seconds between them. When going fast forward it stops at the beginning of the following track. Also it is equipped with an auto-reverse feature: when reaching the end of side A it automatically switches to side B, without having to eject, flip and insert the cassette manually.