A "Showerthought" is a simple term used to describe the thoughts that pop into your head while you're doing everyday things like taking a shower, driving, or just daydreaming. A showerthought should offer a unique perspective on an ordinary part of life.
The static on old CRT TVs with rabbit ears was the cosmic microwave background. No one in the last 25 years has ever seen it.
While I've grown up with CRTs (90's kid) I've never seen the actual static in real life, only simulations.
I don't think channels ever went out, and if the TV was listening to a connection that didn't give anything it just shone bright blue.
2007er here, I grew up with a CRT as the TV in our second living room, I'd occasionally watch stuff like Bob the builder and others, but since it was all on analog tv, channels started displaying lots of static, pretty much only like 2 or 3 channels were working last I saw.
Also we had that CRT TV until 2018, then chucked it in the store room, then threw it out in 2020, I kinda miss it, kinda don't, idk.
People born after 2000 can see it on their phones, much more clearly:
You mean scrambled porn, right?
uhhh, yes i have? I'm pretty sure some of my younger cousins have lol
They haven't?
I have a TV from ~2010 that still gives me static when something isn't connected.
If they ever watch Poltergeist they'll know it's the TV people trying to get out.
Well, if they had watched any HBO show, they kind of saw it !
I still see it sometimes when connecting my Steam Deck to my TV
Dude Flatscreen HDTVs were expensive even in 2008, and cable actually got worse for higher price so most people were hooked into local broadcast.
The sky above the port was the colour of television, tuned to a dead channel...........
People born before 2000 think older technology just evaporated the minute the millenium ticked over.
Like when the black and white world suddenly got colorized! My grandpap told me about them old days - when the lawn, the sidewalk and the sky were just different shades of gray.
Grandpa was telling you about 50 shades of grey?
Grandpa knew things. Apparently so did grandma.
2001 here literally grew up with CRT static, you have your years a bit off there.
I was about to say, i think we had a CRT till about 2010. My grandma still has one upstairs so even my youngest cousins still grew up with it.
Umm… I had a CRT until 2009 and even sold it to someone.
Was it just me or has anyone seen or make out patterns while staring at it? I sometimes found it amusing
It really isn't though. It is thermal noise.
Random radio sources, but a small part of the signal is CMB. I wasn't sure what you even meant by thermal noise but I believe it's a phenomenon of flatscreens. I found something that said it was "similar to snow on analog TVs" - so apparently there's a difference.
Funnily, Google AI says, "In the 1940s, people could detect the CMB at home by tuning their TVs to channel 03 and measuring the remaining static after removing other sources. This allowed them to prove the Big Bang before scientists did." So they had that going for 'em, which is nice.
"Thermal Noise" is a phenomenon where everything makes EM noise, just from thermal energy.
If you were to put such a TV in a faraday cage, with an RF termination, you would see something similar. Because noise is inherently part of the circuitry and amplifiers.
Could it not be both?
Last time I thought about static I wondered why colour TV didn't show colour static.
Turns out the colour signal was on very specific frequencies, and if it wasn't present, it would assume it was a black and white signal and turn off the colour circuit.
Say that to my three CRTs. I was born in 2003.
Cosmic microwave? Is that what you are calling "ants in a snowstorm" these days?
Salt and pepper fighting.
"War of the Ants", where I'm from (sweden).
Ask your friend which side is winning, say you're rooting for the black ants, then turn off the TV and claim victory.
ok Sweden wins this one
Ant races
I have actually, we had a big old crt tv way back when
As person born after 2000, I used to play a lot of games on them Wii and GameCube mainly. The image and responsiveness really felt different. I do kinda miss them
Many likely haven't seen a channel sign off for the night with a test pattern up til they come back on