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Curious Things

Laws can be curious things.

I have been seeing a TV ad informing Florida citizens that child booster seats are now required by law.  I assume that means if you actually have a child in the vehicle.



Kind of sad that we always have to legislate common sense.  Still, I have to wonder why it is that Florida is so late in this particular game.  Maybe the child seat manufacturers finally got around to make campaign donations to Florida law makers.

I believe it was the state of New York (certainly no stranger to passing and enforcing laws to regulate every aspect of behavior observable in a vehicle with an out of state license plate) where I saw the advisory: TEXTING prohibited for all.  Cellphone use prohibited for teenagers.  What kind of enforcement nightmare that must be!  And why presume that only teens are distracted by cell phone use?

Florida legislators also recently banned all computers and smart phones in the state.  Please don't turn me in.  They didn't really mean to.  They were trying to outlaw internet cafes and got carried away with the language.

This wasn't a law, but I did see a sign outside a fire station in Vermont:  Always wear a helmet.  That was it, always wear a helmet.  I wanted to stop in and check that everyone inside the building was indeed wearing a helmet, but since I did not have my own at the time, I didn't risk it.

And this ad in the paper's coupon insert...for a razor:   "Scented Handle"
Now, truly, what is the sense (or scents?) of that?

Comments

  1. I always laugh at the disclaimers in car advertisements. The latest [I think Honda] showed a car doing stunts on a snow-covered half pipe; the wording below read: "This is fantasy. Stunt driver. Cars can't snowboard." Seriously?

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  2. You left me laughing, and I needed a good laugh just now.!

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  3. Olga, there are so many signs and ads that come to mind. The sign that always gets to me is the one by the RR track. It simply states, "Please don't stop on tracks" - really? Shouldn't it also add the hidden intended word, "Please don't stop on tracks... idiot! " Then there's the message on the radio that says if you call, you will be connected to a *live* person... really? What if I want to be connected to a dead one. And then, there's another on TV where they advertise a car with *Zero gravity seats* which I'm sure must be a technical term, but I only envision these seats floating around inside the car.... ; ) Thanks for the laughs!

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  4. Oh boy, you can get carried away by all that erroneous syntax.
    Why can't people hire people who know how to write?

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  5. This kind of insanity gives the GOP ammo for the idiocy of regulations. I would let people kill themselves with a cell if they wanted...trouble it they will kill us as well.

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  6. Olga, we live in an age when there has to be a law or a scent for everything. I emptied a vitamin bottle recently and there was a little packet inside to absorb moisture and keep them fresh - it had to have a disclaimer printed on the side "do not consume." Really???

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  7. Ah, my home state, I know it well. They invented the rueful smile.

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  8. Always wear a helmet.
    Hm.
    It might not be the worst idea ever . . . I have, once or twice, hit my head on the corner of the medicine chest door while brushing my teeth. But I can think of situations in which it would be extremely inconvenient.

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  9. Oh my my my my my.... We're having some difficulty writing a law to ban plastic bags in Hawaii. They also banned feeding feral birds (pigeons), but there is absolutely no teeth to the law so it means nothing. I guess it's like your helmet law. It's sad that we need so many laws because people sometimes have no common sense. And then the law itself doesn't have a ton of common sense either.

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  10. Common sense is certainly not common anymore is it? Or perhaps the lawmakers have created this by legislating more laws to regulate behavior.

    There was a recent court case decision in Canada - I can't recall which province - where the judge decided that jamming the cell phone between one's shoulder and ear is "hands free" and would not lead to distracted driving. Between dumb lawmakers and foolish judges is it any wonder computers and smart phones get banned at least temporarily.

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  11. It is amazing the stupid labels and signs they have to post -- many of them due to the stupidity of so many people like my mother who I think was the cause of many of them being enacted!

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  12. I love it when you comment, click publish and Blogger sends your comment off to the netherworld. Shall I try again and copy the comment before I hit publish?

    My favorite is the warning stickers on lawn mowers and hot water heaters, each sticker representing a successful litigation.

    Another facet of modern life that I love is the overuse of flashing strobe lights on emergency and construction vehicles. If one light is good, 25 per vehicle must be excellent. Like stripes on a herd of running zebras, instead of clarifying they overwhelm and confuse. Oh yes and let us not forget the beeping in reverse! When the entire world flashes and beeps, flashing and beeping becomes meaningless.

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  13. I'm extremely taken by the idea of scented handles . Perhaps on poop-scoops ? To be sold with a range of scented poop-baggies ?
    It makes me quite glad I don't have a dog .

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