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PaperclipPerfector  3d ago (text post)   1553 thread views

Friday Fun Thread for May 30, 2025

Be advised: this thread is not for serious in-depth discussion of weighty topics (we have a link for that), this thread is not for anything Culture War related. This thread is for Fun. You got jokes? Share 'em. You got silly questions? Ask 'em.

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Unspoken as of yet in the world of self-driving cars is their obvious utility in childcare. No, not in removing the last vestiges of usefulness from the suburban soccer chauffeur, but in soothing infants and toddlers to sleep. All are aware of the soporific power of the common automobile over our young; but taking advantage of it locks one behind the steering wheel for the hours needed for proper rest, or risks disaster should the larval creature be transferred to an indoor crib. Self-driving changes the equation; nay, creates a new paradigm. No more rocking one’s child tenderly to sleep before laying him or her softly in the crib; now one may gently buckle the child into the car seat before sending it on several carefully timed stops leading back to one’s humble abode. The bliss of this new arrangement can scarcely be imagined. But there is always trouble in paradise. Soon the great traffic jams will not be bound to the working hours alone; afternoon naptime will yield a fleet of autonomous vehicles cruising about town, each cradling a single precious cargo. And in the end, New York will have no choice but to impose congestion pricing, after the first gridlock composed entirely of child-bearing cars paralyzes Manhattan. Such are the risks of Progress.

(This post in loving memory of today’s naptime, viciously cut short by my kid falling asleep in the car. We will never forget what could have been.)

afternoon naptime will yield a fleet of autonomous vehicles cruising about town, each cradling a single precious cargo.

This is really the problem here. No reason that you can't put at least six children into a three row self driving SUV, and imagine how many kids you can stack into an articulated bus. Probably three or four from floor to ceiling, and maybe two deep.

Bus wouldn't work with all the stops and bother of putting kids in and taking them out. Some sort of hot swap system is needed where the driverless car picks up the kid at your house, drives out to meet the bus, and transfers the pod from vehicle to vehicle while in motion.

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