“Sir, it is our bounden duty to inform you that there is a fair chance that a snake may be found in your room! Yes, snakes here are poisonous! We are required by law to let our inmates know!”
“Thanks for the information, but is there another room which is safer?”
“No sir, this entire area is at risk.”
“Then, how about the places on the other side of the road? Surely, there is some place which is protected?”
“Well, we’ve never found a snake that we know of, but we are required by law to inform all our inmates about the potential problem..however unlikely it may be.. and yes.. to repeat, there’s no place which is free from this threat!”
This conversation is of course fictitious, but should this inform-exchange occur, you would have scared the day lights out of this gentleman. For sure, he will never sleep. He’ll be racked with fantasy centred on all kinds of snakes and in all kinds of postures… vipers, cobras, pythons.. wriggling over the bed, raising their hood from the sofa and tucked even in the restroom. You get the drift…the gentleman will be in a living hell!
A prominent coffee joint has just this kind of information displayed at its store. To paraphrase, it says-“When coffee beans are roasted or when coffee is brewed, it releases a chemical which is known to cause the most dreaded disease (whose name must never be mentioned)”. The display ends with an Act number to add credence to the notice. This is displayed strategically- just where the sugar sachets are placed so that it will never be missed. Also, It’s not specific to *a* store- every store displays it now. Through this pronouncement, the entire world of coffee from Guatemala to South India is suddenly under the scanner.
What do we do? May be, I can give up coffee.
Next, I entered a workplace in another part of the city. Right beside the main entrance is another notice- “This facility and areas surrounding it have chemicals which are known to cause reproductive defects and the most dreaded disease (whose name must never be mentioned)." As in the previous case, another “section” and “subclause” formalise this decree.
Now...What do we do? Move to a different location or change the job?
In dismay, I went to cool off in one of the reputed “Art and Crafts” store. Surely, paints and brushes hold no threat. But no! Some paints are marked with a disclaimer that they contain lead which can of course lead to deleterious consequences. Then, "self-hardening clay"…that most ordinary material... used even by school kids..is also marked with a warning- the ingredients are again questionable.
So now, I’ve come to a pass where I can’t drink coffee, I can’t go to the workplace and of course I can’t pursue a hobby.
In what way am I better equipped with this piece of information, if it is not accompanied with a viable alternative? Other than providing an employment opportunity to the sign board painter, in what way is it beneficial to anyone else?
More people are likely to be mentally traumatised and sick in mind than those who could contract the ailment, if at all these findings are actually substantiated.
I wasn't willing to let it pass. I went to the attendant who worked at the coffee store, pulled him out and asked him what it meant? He screwed his eyes... looked at the display for the longest possible time and finally said "Weird! I've never read that one before! But it's been there for a long time!!"
"Dude, this is your store. You run it, you don't know what it means?"
"Sir, I swear... no one.. no one.. till date has ever read it. You're the first one!!"
“Thanks for the information, but is there another room which is safer?”
“No sir, this entire area is at risk.”
“Then, how about the places on the other side of the road? Surely, there is some place which is protected?”
“Well, we’ve never found a snake that we know of, but we are required by law to inform all our inmates about the potential problem..however unlikely it may be.. and yes.. to repeat, there’s no place which is free from this threat!”
This conversation is of course fictitious, but should this inform-exchange occur, you would have scared the day lights out of this gentleman. For sure, he will never sleep. He’ll be racked with fantasy centred on all kinds of snakes and in all kinds of postures… vipers, cobras, pythons.. wriggling over the bed, raising their hood from the sofa and tucked even in the restroom. You get the drift…the gentleman will be in a living hell!
A prominent coffee joint has just this kind of information displayed at its store. To paraphrase, it says-“When coffee beans are roasted or when coffee is brewed, it releases a chemical which is known to cause the most dreaded disease (whose name must never be mentioned)”. The display ends with an Act number to add credence to the notice. This is displayed strategically- just where the sugar sachets are placed so that it will never be missed. Also, It’s not specific to *a* store- every store displays it now. Through this pronouncement, the entire world of coffee from Guatemala to South India is suddenly under the scanner.
What do we do? May be, I can give up coffee.
Next, I entered a workplace in another part of the city. Right beside the main entrance is another notice- “This facility and areas surrounding it have chemicals which are known to cause reproductive defects and the most dreaded disease (whose name must never be mentioned)." As in the previous case, another “section” and “subclause” formalise this decree.
Now...What do we do? Move to a different location or change the job?
In dismay, I went to cool off in one of the reputed “Art and Crafts” store. Surely, paints and brushes hold no threat. But no! Some paints are marked with a disclaimer that they contain lead which can of course lead to deleterious consequences. Then, "self-hardening clay"…that most ordinary material... used even by school kids..is also marked with a warning- the ingredients are again questionable.
So now, I’ve come to a pass where I can’t drink coffee, I can’t go to the workplace and of course I can’t pursue a hobby.
In what way am I better equipped with this piece of information, if it is not accompanied with a viable alternative? Other than providing an employment opportunity to the sign board painter, in what way is it beneficial to anyone else?
More people are likely to be mentally traumatised and sick in mind than those who could contract the ailment, if at all these findings are actually substantiated.
I wasn't willing to let it pass. I went to the attendant who worked at the coffee store, pulled him out and asked him what it meant? He screwed his eyes... looked at the display for the longest possible time and finally said "Weird! I've never read that one before! But it's been there for a long time!!"
"Dude, this is your store. You run it, you don't know what it means?"
"Sir, I swear... no one.. no one.. till date has ever read it. You're the first one!!"
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