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Comment by OGEnthusiast | Hacker News Reader

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On plumbing just because that was such a funny point to base the strength of a country on, the US didn't even exist when other countries already had plumbing.

So if the US not having plumbing in 1776 is evidence of weakness, then countries in 2025 that don't have indoor plumbing must be weak beyond comprehension to even take seriously, right?

If said countries were part of the conversation at all you might consider that a weakness, but looking at actual markers for geopolitical power you might not stress too much about plumbing, with or without it, in your analysis.

Given the actual powers involved I do think you're underestimating the situation for the sake of talking down to a select few countries that don't really sway the needle much. There are absolutely countries worth worrying about on the global stage, plumbing not-withstanding.

The US only got clean water and indoor plumbing a few decades ago ?!?

First century Rome had that and underfloor heating in the provinces.

Hmm, not that clean though: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/mar/31/americas-tap...

Is Flint, Michigan still living off of bottled water or did the USA finally fix that?

Still bottled water. The lede was buried in that it was a confirmed Legionella outbreak that killed an excess 150-200 on top of the lead poisoning of 100k sacrificial brown and poor people that the sociopathic governor and emergency manager poisoned because of their incompetency, recklessness, and egotism.

A quick Google seems to say the opposite? That all the pipes have been replaced but trust remains low despite 9 straight years of testing showing low lead levels.

https://bridgemi.com/michigan-environment-watch/hard-fought-...

That’s just describing wealth.

Yup, which is why I have more faith in the US than the rest of the world.

Despite those billions of people not ending up electing Trump?

I stand corrected: everyone else on Earth sucks. /s

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