site banner
PaperclipPerfector  17hr ago (text post)   763 thread views

Friday Fun Thread for August 14, 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.

Top Bottom Old Controversial Comments
Jump in the discussion.

No email address required.

I came across the link to a Facebook page for Vanished Florida. I see a lot of hotels in Miami even back to 1910-1920. How did hotels work in 1920?

My understanding of the transportation system in 1920 is a northerner going to Miami the trip would take days. I don’t think you could drive a car from NYC to Miami in 1920. So maybe railroad or boat? I’m guessing a 2-day trip that was fairly expensive?

A modern hotel is essentially transients that stay on average probably 2-3 days. Would a hotel in 1920 in a place like Miami be much longer stays? For the obvious reason that you’re not traveling to a place that takes 4-5 days travel time round trip to stay for a day or two.

If my assumptions are correct it would be interesting staying in a fancy hotel in a vacation destination where everyone is staying month. There would be value in meeting other guests.

Here’s the link. https://www.facebook.com/share/1UKPu8znC9/?mibextid=wwXIfr

Another story: after my grandmother passed, we found a little black notebook from her mother describing a trip from Illinois down to Florida in the late 30s or maybe the 40s. It was more or less the first time she’d traveled. She noted every time they had to stop for gas, the prices, and whether my great-grandfather had to top off the oil. Apparently that was every few stops. Beautiful handwriting, too. Point is, I could see a vast expansion in mobility as automobile and road coverage took off.

I need to see if I can find it again.

I’d love a write-up of this if you ever find it again.

What is this place?

This website is a place for people who want to move past shady thinking and test their ideas in a court of people who don't all share the same biases. Our goal is to optimize for light, not heat; this is a group effort, and all commentators are asked to do their part.

The weekly Culture War threads host the most controversial topics and are the most visible aspect of The Motte. However, many other topics are appropriate here. We encourage people to post anything related to science, politics, or philosophy; if in doubt, post!

Check out The Vault for an archive of old quality posts. You are encouraged to crosspost these elsewhere.


Why are you called The Motte?

A motte is a stone keep on a raised earthwork common in early medieval fortifications. More pertinently, it's an element in a rhetorical move called a "Motte-and-Bailey", originally identified by philosopher Nicholas Shackel. It describes the tendency in discourse for people to move from a controversial but high value claim to a defensible but less exciting one upon any resistance to the former. He likens this to the medieval fortification, where a desirable land (the bailey) is abandoned when in danger for the more easily defended motte. In Shackel's words, "The Motte represents the defensible but undesired propositions to which one retreats when hard pressed."

On The Motte, always attempt to remain inside your defensible territory, even if you are not being pressed.


New post guidelines

If you're posting something that isn't related to the culture war, we encourage you to post a thread for it. A submission statement is highly appreciated, but isn't necessary for text posts or links to largely-text posts such as blogs or news articles; if we're unsure of the value of your post, we might remove it until you add a submission statement. A submission statement is required for non-text sources (videos, podcasts, images).

Culture war posts go in the culture war thread; all links must either include a submission statement or significant commentary. Bare links without those will be removed.

If in doubt, please post it!


Rules


Recommended Posts And Communities

Recommended Realtime Chats