Living in an Amish Paradise
November 5, 2004
The Amish are an interesting folk. When I was a kid I couldn’t quite understand why they chose to go about their lives without the modern convienances of everyday technology. It was perplexing to me that inside a typical Amish dwelling there were no toasters, refridgerators, televisions, microwaves or anything that ran on electricity.
Instead of using common technological and electrical devices, the Amish go about their lives using candles, washboards, butter-churners and the obligatory outhouse.
Yet to a certain extent, slight technological advances have been made in order to pave the way or give light to otherwise dangerous situations. For instance, a co-owned Amish alternative energy firm called Lumileds Lighting and SunLine Solar, Inc. has created something tech-safe and “Amish friendly”. The device is a light-emmiting diode (or LED) for buggies that runs on solar-powered energy.
Ever hear the one about the Amish guy caught in LED headlights?
10 comments
What!?!? You mean that the Amish wouldn’t know a
<div>from a<table>?Seriously, I think that there strict following of a lifestyle devoid of modern convenience is admirable, but when you seriously have to think about lighting it becomes a tad extreme
Hehehe… that’s funny.
by Gordon Mackay on November 5, 2004 at 12:32 pm. #
“Amish Friendly”… hahahaha
Sometimes though, specially after a day of coding like a maniac and rushing thru emails, IMs and requests at work, I think to myself whether they actually do have a point.
In the meantime, I just gotta play Weird Al Yankovic’s version of Coolio’s “Gansta’s Paradise”, aptly renamed “Amish Paradise”… hilarious
by beto on November 5, 2004 at 1:06 pm. #
I’m going to have that song in my head for days now.
by max on November 5, 2004 at 3:59 pm. #
A while back there was a reality show called Amish In The City or something along those lines. Didn’t really follow it much, just saw two episodes, but from what I’ve seen I felt sorry for those people. Some of them have never been to a city, one guy saw the ocean for the very first time while in his late 20’s. They don’t experience as much as people that live the civilized way, but sometimes I understand where they’re coming from. Seems that they try to stay away from areas that might cause stress I guess, and try to live a simple and stressless life.
Sometimes I wish I could do the same thing, but I guess I would have to move to an Amish neighborhood.
by Rafal on November 5, 2004 at 4:03 pm. #
Nice piece on the Amish.…they may not use refrigerators, ovens, dishwashers, but they make them “Amana” brand appliances. Just some Mormans don’t drink coffee or coke because of caffine…but they hold high stock interest in the Coke company.….go figure???
Oh well.…make sure you turn off the lights when you leave ok?
by Dad on November 5, 2004 at 11:11 pm. #
I’ve met a couple of Amish people before. Nicest people you could ever meet. You won’t ever find an Amish person in jail, unless he’s into bowling …
Weird Al Yankovich has ruined me forever everytime I hear the word, Amish.
by Matt Burris on November 6, 2004 at 6:34 am. #
Mmm, like i always do when reading here, i have learned something new … “go get Amish Paradise” lol
by Luc on November 7, 2004 at 9:50 pm. #
Amish Paradise is probably one of Weird Al’s best parody songs (even if it didn’t sit well with Coolio), right up there with his parody of Michael Jackson’s Bad, which he called “Fat”. He was at the top of his career in the mid-80s and early 90s and while I enjoyed his latest compilation, it just wasn’t near the quality of his earlier hits.
by kartooner on November 7, 2004 at 10:28 pm. #
Just a question: how do Amish blog?
by Michele on November 24, 2004 at 12:11 pm. #
The Amish are certainly a different story altogether. But at least they’re certainly closer to being environmentally friendly people. In other words, their carbon footprint is great! I bet that we could learn some significant things from them; for instance, how to live without electricity could help us see how we can certainly conserve electricity. Especially if they are looking at alternative forms of power.
by shopping on March 6, 2008 at 11:43 am. #