In 2015, the city of Riccione, approximately 130 kilometres (80 miles) southeast of Bologna, allocated an €11,000 budget to pay a wage to umarells to oversee worksites in the city – counting the number of trucks in and out to ensure materials were delivered/removed according to the receipts, and guarding against theft when the site was otherwise unattended.
This is brilliant. We should do more stuff like this -- acknowledge that it adds value, slip the person a few bucks.
True (I upvoted). The downside though in terms of being near a construction site is that particulate matter [0][1] (and even road based noise pollution [2]), is linked with cognitive decline.
We have the same thing in Turkey, although without an exclusive name or word for it. I guess similar mediterranean cultures, perception of elderly etc. and many other factors create this phenomena.
Actually watching construction in Italy may seem very interesting. Where else in the world can you watch buildings from 300 A.D. close to classical and gothic architecture combined with modern engineering techniques?
Re:Umarell
by mikewarot on Saturday November 27, 2021 @02:12AM
(#29358235)
Who wouldn't want to watch construction? It's the same drive that has me watch hours of machine shop videos, or other how it's made stuff. If it wasn't dangerous, and there were a machine shop with a picture window, I bet those same men would go watch the machinists when the weather was poor.
Re:Umarell
by klyrs on Thursday November 25, 2021 @06:41PM
(#29346114)
Not the first time that I've looked for an article about Italian culture, and there's articles in multiple languages but not Italian.
I think that umarells are an interesting phenomenon. They sound like they were annoying construction workers (bikeshedding) but rather than treat them as a nuisance (loitering->fines or jail), a purpose was found: they get paid an honorarium for "jobs" most of us would find eyewateringly boring but provide value for the construction companies.
Re:Umarell
by ruggi on Friday November 26, 2021 @04:49PM
(#29354506)
Well, they don't annoy workers, not that much. They may exchange some word, probably opinions on what's the best way to do the job, but they are mostly quiet and observing.
Re:Umarell
by zwaps on Thursday November 25, 2021 @08:04PM
(#29346613)
You know, you are probably right statistically, although the true coefficient is biased (maybe in either direction) due to selection effects and societal endogeneity.
However, I always wonder, when people say things like "if you are a guy, if you are a gal" with such force and authority... what about the outliers, and what about the overlaps of these distributions?
I know a gal who loves nothing more than analyzing ongoing construction sites. I certainly know several who love to watch programming videos.
Wonder how that feels, when someone brings all the biotruths at ya, and you happen to sit at that point in the preference distribution where looking at technical going-ons is actually what you enjoy.
Like, how large is the percentage of people who literally have never met any woman who is genuinely interested in technical things, and feel totally comfortable making such absolute statements? Must be some good percentage, at least.
Re:Umarell
by rahimiali on Thursday November 25, 2021 @08:23PM
(#29346697)
A strange thing about your comment, beyond it making easily verifiable claims without substantiating them, is that you focus on the gender of the spectators. You could have focused on their age, their posture, that they look at only construction and not other forms of public labor, or that this has a name in Italy and not elsewhere. Why the fascination with gender?
Re:Umarell
by jaclaz on Friday November 26, 2021 @10:20AM
(#29350976)
Well, you will have a hard time de-gendering "umarell", as it is - before and besides - this particularly popular use, nothing but a diminutive form of "uomo", i.e. "man".
The first few lines of the Wikipedia article:
>Umarell (Italian pronunciation: [umaˈrɛl]; modern revisitation of the Bolognese dialect word umarèl [umaˈrɛːl]) is a term in the Italo-Romance variety of Bologna referring specifically to men of retirement age who spend their time watching construction sites, especially roadworks – stereotypically with hands clasped behind their back and offering unwanted advice.[1] Its literal meaning is "little man" (also umarèin).[2] The term is employed as lighthearted mockery or self-deprecation.
Maybe it is not fair, but it is definitely intended as "male only" and as such very gender-oriented.
For the record, (from the facebook of Danilo Masotti, the writer that popularized the term), female "umarells" are documented to exist, though tagged as "extremely rare":
A great tactic to shut down strangers who you disagree at the bar or whatever: demand evidence for obvious claims. This actually has been verified, look into studies relating to how children react to toys whose apparent target audience is the opposite gender. And also look into the widely accepted phenomenon that men and women in developed countries tend to gravitate more towards occupations traditionally associated with their own genders, even when presented with other opportunities.
This is brilliant. We should do more stuff like this -- acknowledge that it adds value, slip the person a few bucks.
[0] https://medicalxpress.com/news/2020-11-forest-cars-power-fac...
[1] https://www.studyfinds.org/young-people-brains-air-pollution...
[2] https://www.studyfinds.org/busy-roads-alzheimers-risk/
Fun!
But yeah, no idea why this has popped up on HN :D
I suspect there are quite a few umarells on HN ;-)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rP8vExQYxus
Personally, I stay away from construction sites. Besides dangerous, they're loud and dusty.
Or the baker, candlestick maker, etc.
I think that umarells are an interesting phenomenon. They sound like they were annoying construction workers (bikeshedding) but rather than treat them as a nuisance (loitering->fines or jail), a purpose was found: they get paid an honorarium for "jobs" most of us would find eyewateringly boring but provide value for the construction companies.
If you're lucky it elicites even some self-referential Statler and Waldorf comments.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Statler_and_Waldorf
[0] https://www.youtube.com/c/AndrewCamarata/featured
For the curious: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4De2tMjPRCE
However, I always wonder, when people say things like "if you are a guy, if you are a gal" with such force and authority... what about the outliers, and what about the overlaps of these distributions?
I know a gal who loves nothing more than analyzing ongoing construction sites. I certainly know several who love to watch programming videos.
Wonder how that feels, when someone brings all the biotruths at ya, and you happen to sit at that point in the preference distribution where looking at technical going-ons is actually what you enjoy.
Like, how large is the percentage of people who literally have never met any woman who is genuinely interested in technical things, and feel totally comfortable making such absolute statements? Must be some good percentage, at least.
The first few lines of the Wikipedia article:
>Umarell (Italian pronunciation: [umaˈrɛl]; modern revisitation of the Bolognese dialect word umarèl [umaˈrɛːl]) is a term in the Italo-Romance variety of Bologna referring specifically to men of retirement age who spend their time watching construction sites, especially roadworks – stereotypically with hands clasped behind their back and offering unwanted advice.[1] Its literal meaning is "little man" (also umarèin).[2] The term is employed as lighthearted mockery or self-deprecation.
Maybe it is not fair, but it is definitely intended as "male only" and as such very gender-oriented.
For the record, (from the facebook of Danilo Masotti, the writer that popularized the term), female "umarells" are documented to exist, though tagged as "extremely rare":
https://www.facebook.com/umarells/posts/zdaure-e-cantierirar...