alt Hacker NewsOnly oddity was the reference to the "router cache". I agree if your browser tried to lookup example.com the local cache would be used, but then it would be the system's configured DNS server - and that would most likely be an ISP, rather than your local router.
(Assuming a typical home connection, your router is _probably_ not a DNS server with local cache, it probably is a DHCP server which will hand out the upstream/ISPs' nameservers.)
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My parents are with Bell (the biggest ISP in Canada) and use the Bell Gigahub (Router/AP/Switch in one). It does have a DNS cache and the its set as the DNS resolver in their DHCP configuration.
The system's configured DNS resolver is usually your router.
I would argue the contrary - most home routers are running a DNS server of some kind. They forward to upstream, but will resolve local names like your printer and whatnot.
dnsmasq is the defacto tool on these embedded devices for dhcp+dns. probably a billion deployments. it's up there with sqlite for most used tech.
I think this is probably quite dependent on what’s normal for ISPs in the region. In the UK for example, every ISP router I’ve had runs a DNS server and it’s that which is given out via DHCP. It then forwards onto the ISPs DNS platform.