Help, I'm 5 years in and still have no clue

Depending on your country, that is the norm. Engineers here have at least 2 national unions to choose from, finance have a couple of unions, same with teachers, admin staff, etc. etc.

As usual, this is probably just US being victim of 'merican exceptionlism.

I love me a good piece of pedantry. Technically correct, the best kind of correct.

That would be a nice legal loophole for a corporation. Bribe someone to lose a court case without council, and then use that case as legal precedent for future cases.

I only ever think about the Holy Roman Empire, so I'm not in the in-group sadly :-(

Woodworking! Yes, you can obviously spend lots of money on equipment, but you'd be surprised by how nice furniture you can build with just a track saw and a trim router.

I frequently dream about having an upcoming quantum physics exam which I have not studied for. It's 12 years since I handed in my master's thesis and got my engineering degree.

Am I normal?

When a toddler is finally all dressed up and ready to go, they invariably suddenly need a diaper change. Is it the same with your wife?

a human produces 1.35 deaths per 100M miles driven

My car has been driven around 100k miles by a human, i.e. it has produced 0.00135 deaths. Is that like a third of a pinky toe?

That doesn't help much if your country has shut down FM broadcasting though.

E.g. I have a plethora of grapes. We should stop using the term plethora because they could just say “a lot.”

That reminds me of the old joke:

A widow was holding a funeral for her husband, when a man asked if he could say a word. "Of course" said the widow, so he stood up and exclaimed "plethora!". The widow replied "thanks, that means a lot".