And nowadays they are supplemented and partially superseded by European EN directives. This is the kind of stuff that hardly anyone realizes but is enormously helpful in everyday life. Your toilet seat breaks, you just go ahead and buy a new one. Its mount points, dimensions, and load bearing characteristics are standardized so no need to get a degree in toiletology or whatever. Just buy any one you like. Same idea with light bulbs, printer paper, piping connections, door jambs, etc. etc. Standardization makes life SO much easier.
This is something I’ve noticed since living in Germany. I’m from the US, so I don’t know if it’s a metric:imperial thing or a German specific thing, but things are way more standardized here.
You’re not always allowed to fix your own appliances (or you can, but your insurance will be nullified for any even remotely related- like replacing the foot on a washing machine means that water damage from an unrelated leak in the washer’s drum years later may not be covered), so the standardization doesn’t always pay off, but it’s definitely standardized.
And nowadays they are supplemented and partially superseded by European EN directives. This is the kind of stuff that hardly anyone realizes but is enormously helpful in everyday life. Your toilet seat breaks, you just go ahead and buy a new one. Its mount points, dimensions, and load bearing characteristics are standardized so no need to get a degree in toiletology or whatever. Just buy any one you like. Same idea with light bulbs, printer paper, piping connections, door jambs, etc. etc. Standardization makes life SO much easier.
This is something I’ve noticed since living in Germany. I’m from the US, so I don’t know if it’s a metric:imperial thing or a German specific thing, but things are way more standardized here.
You’re not always allowed to fix your own appliances (or you can, but your insurance will be nullified for any even remotely related- like replacing the foot on a washing machine means that water damage from an unrelated leak in the washer’s drum years later may not be covered), so the standardization doesn’t always pay off, but it’s definitely standardized.