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PaperclipPerfector  23hr ago (text post)   748 thread views

Friday Fun Thread for July 10, 2026

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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I recently had my third child and my much younger brother broke his leg. As a result, I’m spending a lot of time in doctors offices, medical offices, and physical therapy outfits.

For whatever reason I started to notice that every one of these places have these big horseshoe front desks with somewhere between 6-12 women working. They’re generally between 20-60 years old, natural blonde or dye job, mostly slightly overweight or seriously overweight, at least one tattoo, and all of them pretty miserable. These are the working women proles. When people talk about the outrageous healthcare costs, I can’t help but think that it’s all a racket and jobs program. Healthcare companies make a nice margin and get an army of women that toe the line with “public health” and collect a paycheck.

I’m 42. It wasn’t always like this.

I’m saying this all tongue in cheek for Friday fun. But I am kinda curious what people think about the socio-economic-political forces that are driving this.

Is it the same in the UK? In China? I’ve been to a Chinese hospital. That seemed like a lot of young village type Chinese in white uniforms and hats.

What makes these people so miserable? Do people go into this field and turn into this stereotype? Or do the stereotype people get attracted to this field?

I’ve occasionally seen a horseshoe desk, though much more rarely than a “bank teller” setup or just a single desk.

I concur that any of these desk types are almost always staffed by women, and that those women are between 20 and 60. You know, like most American workers.

None of the rest fits my experience. It’s like you’re sending a message from an alternate dimension, maybe the same place from which Ben Shapiro pulled his fiction.

Okay, hold on. I have a cousin who fit a number of those checkboxes, and she totally worked healthcare support up in the Midwest. No word on her desk style. I think she’s moved on to education now that her kid is in school?

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