Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey is trying a unique strategy to get remote workers to return downtown: insulting them.

“I don’t know if you saw this study the other day,” Frey told an audience of 1,000 at Minneapolis Downtown Council’s annual meeting on Wednesday. “What this study clearly showed … is that when people who have the ability to come downtown to an office don’t — when they stay home sitting on their couch, with their nasty cat blanket, diddling on their laptop — if they do that for a few months, you become a loser!”

The comment was a “complete joke” and the study was made-up, the Minneapolis mayor’s office told Fortune, but there are serious facts to back up Frey’s worry about the impact of remote work on Minneapolis’ downtown economy.

      • loutr@sh.itjust.works
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        9 months ago

        Nah, it’s class contempt. All of us rubes working from our slums, when we should be content to bask in the glory of the Corporate Office…

      • Echo Dot
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        9 months ago

        Dogs are far worse for that. My sister has a dog and nothing in their house will ever be clean again

        • Richard@lemmy.world
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          9 months ago

          Lol okay our dog doesn’t lose any hair, at least not more than a human

        • MotoAsh@lemmy.world
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          9 months ago

          Eh, they’re just more cleaning than a human when it comes to the big messy ones. Totally managable with full mobility. Though if you have an unfortunate situation like a long-hair shedding dog and no vaccuum or one that hair-wraps easily… it gets rough.

          Other than that, it’s largely staying on top of messes and training them to keep it outside. One bad pee spot a year is easy enough to clean up without a trace, but if it soaks in or it’s all over, it’s a chore and one that needs a shampooer or serious mopping, too.

          Also UV flashlights, the kind with a black (filtered) lense, are your friend. They’re cheap these days and make pee spots flouresce.

          • Echo Dot
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            9 months ago

            Yeah I’m not going to my sister’s house with the black light, that seems to cross a line.

            • MotoAsh@lemmy.world
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              9 months ago

              Ha yea don’t snoop…Though they are awesome for finding pee spots. Just let 'em borrow it or buy extras. There are ones for under ten bucks these days.

        • FabledAepitaph@lemmy.world
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          9 months ago

          Because humans evolved to live in a sterile environment 24/7 and to never be exposed to other forms of life, dirt, or literally any sort of adversity physically or emotionally. Or something?

          • Honytawk@lemmy.zip
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            9 months ago

            Your home doesn’t need to be sterile, but it does need to be disease free.

            We have known that since the middle ages.

            • FabledAepitaph@lemmy.world
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              9 months ago

              Okay, what diseases are my dogs giving me? Also, define “disease free” because you’re already covered in “diseases”. The bacteria that causes strep throat is already hanging out inside of your throat, waiting to proliferate one day when your immune system dips because of something entirely unrelated. If you’ve eaten out, you’ve probably eaten fecal coliform bacteria from the people who made your food, and you never even knew it (and neither did they) because nobody washes their hands for the recommended 30 seconds. Just take it easy, don’t do obviously risky things with your health, and you’ll be fine.