IGNORANT STORIES

[MrDuke]

I just had someone walk up and ask me:

 

The expiration date on my cold medicine says 11/2003. Is it still good?

 

My standard reply is: If it was milk, would you drink it?

 

 

I just got to thinking about all the ignorant questions and how funny they can be.

Post up so we can all share the humor.

[Brillow_Head]

I've had a few beers, should I drive home? <yoink>

[TheBugs]

we have Foreign exchange students in our school for a couple of weeks. My mom goes "Are they from France?"

 

me and my dad couldnt stop laughing.

[Cranky Bullfrog]

It's not really a story but something I've puzzled about for some time.

 

Near my house is a drive-up ATM. It's solely for cars - you know, drive up? Well apparently the bank people don't know that.

 

I say that because while I'm sitting there using the machine and waiting on my cash, I happen to notice- this machine has Braille on it!!!!!!!

 

Yep! Right there on the numeric keypad - Braille!

 

So, then the question: "who do they think is going to use this that needs Braille"?

 

The possibilities are pretty funny (without intention to poke fun at anyone with a sight problem).

 

I can just see this blind person driving up to the ATM to use it (scary thought huh?)! How does he find his way to the ATM without knocking it over with his car? Does he have two white poles attached to the front of his car so he can "feel" for the machine?

 

Also, what about the row of buttons at the top beside the video screen; you know, the buttons that you use to select the account you wish to access, the amount you wish to withdraw/deposit, etc? They have NO Braille on them!

 

So, it was obviously a partial solution but you have to wonder about the bank employee who said - "hey, let's be sure to put braille on the machine so blind people can use it in the drive-up lane". (were the other meeting attendants asleep?)

 

"Here's your sign....."

 

Keep smiling! Cranky

[duma]

So, then the question: "who do they think is going to use this that needs Braille"?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

The ATM's are made much like your car. It is a factory that builds one the same as the next. The ATM's are placed in malls, and other shopping centers, and even drive up places. Certainly, ppl that are blind visit malls and other shopping centers. I don't think it is a reasonable cost saving effort to remove brail from the drive up ATM's, just to avoid the old joke.

 

Anyway, my favorite question that I have been asked, by a nurse non the less:

"What is the normal alcohol level in a person?"

*And, they didn't mean the level that would get you in trouble if you were driving. The question was, in an everday person, what would their alc. level be? The nurse got angry when I was confused by her question. I kept thinking she was talking about the legal limit.

[appalachian_fox]

I dearly love this one, and its variants:

 

"How could the answer be wrong? I put the data into the computer and this is what came out!"

 

I've got a bunch of avenues of possible error, and when that question is asked, I always start with operator error.

[dwEEziL]

Pre-cell phone days. Someone calls my house and I pick up the phone.

 

Me: "Hello?"

Caller: "Hey, where are you?"

Me: "Duh!"

[MrDuke]

LOL!

I love 'em!

 

 

This one was a few years ago. A 90 year old lady comes up to me and says she has terrible thumb pain. I was fresh out of school and ready to save the world and here was my first needy person.

I checked her thumb out and it was very red and inflammed around the nail bed. I said, "you have a hangnail and it's probably infected. But I don't know why your thumb hurts".

She gives me a condescending look and sighs. That's not good for the ego, let me tell you.

I asked what treatment she's tried so far and this is what i get:

"My grandmother told me that you can get rid of hangnails by hitting your finger or thumb with a cooked ham bone."

Well, I had a bad one so I spent 1/2 an hour hitting my thumb with a ham bone.

 

Thus endeth the mystery...

[gOOters]

we have Foreign exchange students in our school for a couple of weeks. My mom goes "Are they from France?"

 

me and my dad couldnt stop laughing.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

 

and yes Duke, scarily enough I would drink the milk

[Bubblegum Bandit]

Sim, just out of curiosity, what do you do for a living?

[MrDuke]

Actually most medicine is good for a very long period time after the expiration date. Maybe that person isn't the ignorant one.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

 

 

You are right. Expiration date = at least 90% potency. They don't go from good to bad in one day. But, from a liability standpoint, expiration is expiration.

2 years? No way.

 

And you also have to consider that some products degrade into toxic substances (aspirin) once they pass their expiration date.

 

You implied I was ignorant...ouch.

[strangefamous]

Expiration dates on the manufacturer’s package are based on the stability of the drug in its original closed container. The date does not necessarily mean that the drug was found to be unstable after a longer period; it means only that real-time data or extrapolations from accelerated degradation studies indicate that the drug will still be stable at that date. The expiration date for new drugs is usually 2-3 years from the date of manufacture. Once the original container is opened for use or dispensing, the expiration date on the container no longer applies.

 

There are virtually no reports of toxicity from degradation products of outdated drugs. How much of their potency they retain varies with the drug and the storage conditions, especially humidity, but many drugs stored under reasonable conditions retain 90% of their potency for at least 5 years after the expiration date on the label, and sometimes much longer.

 

I do believe MrDuke is right, when you're offering advice on a persons health and well-being. Considering he doesn't know the condition the medication was stored, it's adverse effects or it's rate of degradation the advice he offered is correct. It's better to be safe then sorry when you're dealing with peoples lives.

 

 

Dangit duke you beat me

Edited March 17, 2005 by strangefamous

[Brillow_Head]

A customer of a Gateway computer called customer support one day with a problem. The tech asked what the problem was and the individual responded as such.

 

"I have an icon on the right side of my screen I want to click on...but my mouse wont move that far."

 

The tech asked the idividual if they had installed the correct drivers, set the sesitivity too low and such...then it dawned on him...

 

"Pick up the mouse, move it back to the center of the mousepad and try again..."

 

"Oh, thank you very much that worked."

Edited March 17, 2005 by Brillow_Head

[Acid-Flux]

This one time, someone asked me for the time and I was like WHATEVERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!

 

true story..

 

well maybe not..

[gOOters]

Actually most medicine is good for a very long period time after the expiration date. Maybe that person isn't the ignorant one.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Were you the one asking Sim?

 

Anyway. YOu are grounded for 2 weeks for your implication. Go to your room now, son.

[MrDuke]

The ATM's are made much like your car. It is a factory that builds one the same as the next. The ATM's are placed in malls, and other shopping centers, and even drive up places. Certainly, ppl that are blind visit malls and other shopping centers. I don't think it is a reasonable cost saving effort to remove brail from the drive up ATM's, just to avoid the old joke.

 

Anyway, my favorite question that I have been asked, by a nurse non the less:

"What is the normal alcohol level in a person?"

*And, they didn't mean the level that would get you in trouble if you were driving. The question was, in an everday person, what would their alc. level be? The nurse got angry when I was confused by her question. I kept thinking she was talking about the legal limit.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

LOL!

Back in the day it seemed like my BAC was a constant .01. Weekends- .015 , Golfing .017, Frat party- .025, church- .01.

[MrDuke]

Wow that statement blew up! I was just implying that you seemed a little harsh by saying the person was ignorant. If I needed cold medicine and that expired  bottle was all I had, I too would ask someone (knowlegeable) if it was safe to take. But maybe I'm just ignorant!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

 

LOL, well let's defuse it. I'm not offended. I hope you aren't either. No harm, no foul.

 

All is well!

[gOOters]

pacifist

 

<takes notes>

[Mad Bean]

This is a good one.

 

Most of you know that I live in Florida and work for a Goodyear Auto Center. The store I work at is located 3 blocks from the ocean. We have a rule, that employees are not allowed to smoke cigarettes in the shop. A few employees were not following the rules implimented when myself or the store manager were away. So one morning, my store manager walked up to and asked what punishment we should use on the employees that were not following the rules. We decided that they were to clean the whole shop and parking lot of any cigarette butts and to take a bucket that was in the shop and use it for disposing them in the future. The store manager looked at me and asked "Where can we get some sand for the bucket." I didn't respond immediately, and he looked at me puzzled. I then responded "How bout 3 block that way?", as I pointed in the direction of the ocean. He then walked away from me holding his head in his hands laughing.

[Lunk]

Wow......Duke is so graceful....so much more than me.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

It's a family thing Fatty.......Neither one of us got the tact & grace gene....

[simkiller]

Sim, just out of curiosity, what do you do for a living?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Firefighter/EMT. My dad is a doctor and he is the one who has always told me that expired medicine is usually allright to take.

[MrDuke]

We are getting off track a bit.

Sim--no need to apologize because this is not a big deal. In fact, it's a done deal.

This is a fun thread peeps, lighten up!!

 

Ok, here's another one.

 

I was a rookie and getting buried by phone calls and drop off Rxs. I had a lobby full of people. A lady dropped off a script with the name lame 'Smith'. I asked if she'd been here before (so I didn't have to gather personal info) and she said yes.

I didn't even get to it for 1/2 an hour and when I did, she wasn't in the system.

Well, I didn't want her to wait any longer so I looked at this one lady in the lobby who I thought was her and said with a loud voice, "Are you lame?!"

The whole lobby fell silent and her face turned beat red. "NO, I AM NOT!!" she yelled and stormed off.

 

Oops...

[MrDuke]

This is a good one.

 

The store manager looked at me and asked "Where can we get some sand for the bucket." 

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

I don't know...that sounds like something YOU'D say.

[Cranky Bullfrog]

Ok, I'll grant Duma that "perhaps" the reason a drive-up ATM machine has Braille on it is because of economies of scale - put it on all of them to make it more cost effective. But it still begs the question - what is a blind person supposed to do with Braille on the buttons next to the video screen? Think about it.

 

Ok, I'll try another one.... years ago, my father-in-law opened a bank account in (ok - I won't say it - but it's a country immediately to the north of us). Anyway, he gets his new shiny ATM card from the nice bank officer and he is told to go to the ATM machine in the center of the lobby, insert the card and program it with his desired password for the very first time.

 

Well, he goes to the machine, enters his cool password and then heads out of the bank. Later in the day, he stops by an ATM to draw out some cash for lunch. He puts his card in, starts to enter his password... hmm... when he was in the bank and entered his password, he picked a couple of special symbols for the password (something like &*%$ or similar - no, I'm not cussing). Well then, surprise, surprise.. the "field model" of the ATM has no such characters on it! Back to the bank.....

 

The agent is surprised but resets his password and tells him to go the ATM in the center of the bank and enter a new password. So, Dad goes to the machine and this time, remembering the keycodes available on the "field" machine, enters a new password. Life is good. He still used a special character in it (like an "&") but hey, it's on the field machine so it must be ok... right?

 

A couple of days later, he spins by the ATM near his house - puts in his card and password and proceeds to ask for money - only part way through the asking, the machine shuts down and spits out his card. A message appears "we are experiencing problems with this ATM. Please try another location. Sorry for any inconvenience.". Irritated but being a very patient fellow, Dad heads over to a different machine, pokes his lucky card into the machine, enters his password and a few seconds later, same problem. Ugh!

 

Well, it's too late in the day to go visit the bank agent so he waits til the next day. Next day, off he goes to the bank and explains the problem to the agent. A suspicious look arises on the agent's face. "What time exactly did you use your card sir?" he asks. Dad answers. Then exclaims the agent, "Ah ha - we had system problems at exactly that same time! - would you mind trying your card over here on the ATM in the center of the lobby?". Dad complies. He sticks his card in the lobby ATM, pokes in his password.... .BOOM.... down it goes! The agent about has a heart attack. A few minutes later, the "computer tech" runs out of the back room into the lobby - "what just happened?". The agent explains. Dad explains. Computer tech cusses - says "the entire ATM network keeps dropping off line when you do that - could you PLEEEEEASE pick a different password and DON'T use any of the special keys please!".....

 

True story.... (sad but true?)..... Of course this was during the early days of ATMs in (the country to the north)... but hey, it's still pretty funny.....

 

Cranky

[duma]

Ok, I'll grant Duma that "perhaps" the reason a drive-up ATM machine has Braille on it is because of economies of scale - put it on all of them to make it more cost effective.  But it still begs the question - what is a blind person supposed to do with Braille on the buttons next to the video screen?  Think about it.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

4

Perhaps the set the ATM to "talk." Instructions follow with the buttons on the upper right. Next, those buttons say, "YES" or "NO."

Sorry, it is just from experience. My wife works with ppl with special needs. I have been around those that are blind, and I know how they get their money from ATM's.