Is this the unofficial motto of the plastic toy Army men? Um … no.
This sign has been posted on the refrigerator at work for several months (with the date updated weekly). Up until last week, I had never taken the time to read it closely, since I rarely use the refrigerator; but upon reading it closely, I must admit that I was puzzled.
Regular readers of chickenmonkeydog will know that when you take the time to read the signs people post, you frequently find befuddling terms, or signs asking for stunning behavior. Today though, I must admit that I have NO IDEA what the writer of this sign means by the term "product" in the list of items which are specifically eligible for discarding.
Can anyone help me out?
Aha, ‘product’ that generic term which is only imbued with meaning by its context.
Have you heard hairdressers asking at the end of a haircut if you would like a ‘product’? They usually mean the gunk that people put in their hair apparently to make it more ‘voluminous’, ‘glossy’ and ‘stylish’ (all loaded words in themselves).
In food shops and markets, the term is slightly modified to ‘produce’ and refers to anything that did not make acquaintance of a factory on its way to the shops. Could be construed as discriminatory by purveyors or consumers of the latter. And you know how it is these days with discrimination…
I imagine by using ‘product’, the notice-writer is trying to include both ‘produce’ and manufactured UFO (unidentifiable food objects) that people may leave in the fridge without the benefit of a container. Why ‘Soda’ should be mentioned separately is, to me, an indication of the notice-writer’s world-view on Soda, that it probably belongs to a third category, probably even from another planet, unidentified, of course.
nb: Tongue firmly in cheek. No ‘product’ that comes out in the cleaning of an office fridge can be worth dislodging it anyway…
This might be a tad weird.
Dictionary.com defines Product as ‘a thing produced by labor.’
You don’t want me to start on this thread do you?
@ Shefaly
I was also confused why “soda” deserved a special call out, I guess reflecting the bias of the sign-writer in some way or another. I figured they’d just use “products” as a catch-all and avoid attempting to make a list at all.
@ Kris
I can think of a couple of things produced by labor that might be in the fridge (i.e. fresh vegetables), but I concur, with a certain interpretation of the phrase “produced by labor” such a discussion could quickly get out of hand…..and gross.
Do you think ‘product’ could be street talk for ‘Mexican blow’, ‘snow candy’ or ‘powdered bliss’? That’s what I think anyway.
@ Liam
That is a great interpretation of the word! I hadn’t thought of it, but with that in mind, the sign completely makes sense. Thanks for making sure we don’t miss out on any “street” interpretations.
Hi Conall – As I think more about it, I have to say that you must be working for a pretty liberal employer if they let employees keep their personal stash of cocaine in the staff refrigerator.