I always loved browsing such posts on reddit, so thought I should make one on lemmy too

Edit: Usually these kind of posts only used to have excerpts from books or ancient proverbs, but now I am seeing a lot more quotes from shows/movies/games are also resonating with people. It’s pretty cool to see.

  • @KellyThomas
    19•1 year ago

    “Many hands make light work”

    As a young child I interpreted this as acknowledging all of the people involved in:

    • Mining and transporting coal
    • Running the powerplant
    • Installing and maintaining the powerlines
    • Wiring the house
    • Manufacturing the lightswitch, light socket, light bulb, etc

    All so I can flick a switch and turn on a light in my house. It really shows that all the small things we take for granted rely on a well functioning society.

    Then when I was around 10 or so someone used it in a context where it’s usual interpretation was the only one that made sense.

    • silly goose meekah
      2•1 year ago

      there’s a similar one in german that I really like because it also rhymes (and as we all know, things that rhyme are automatically true)

      “viele hände, schnelles ende” / many hands, quick completion

    • @dudebro
      0•1 year ago

      Hm, I first interpreted that as ‘light work’, as in light vs. heavy work. More people contributing eases the burden for all.