I visited Bally's Atlantic City recently and got a giggle out of the following sign -- a copy of the sign hung over the back of every toilet in every ladies room I entered (and that was a lot):
Please Do Not Throw Soiled Feminine Hygiene Products in the Toilet*
I have several issues with this sign:
1) Since it doesn't want me to "throw" soiled product into the toilet, does that mean it's ok if I place it in the toilet gently?
2) Since the sign specifies "soiled" products, does that mean it's ok if I throw (or place) "unsoiled" product into the toilet?
3) I could get picky over use of the word "in" instead of "into," but I'm repeating this verbiage by memory from a couple weeks ago and am not sure which of the two were used. (Also see asterisk below.)
4. Sign makers are notoriously bad spellers and grammarians. In this particular case, you know damned well that a whole group of suits lamented the wording of that sign in an effort to say what they had to say in a non-offensive way. I don't understand how some signs, including this one, get all the way through the process of requisition, order, proof, approval, printing, shipping, receiving, and hanging. Think of all the people involved in that process. Granted, this one isn't the worst or most obviously incorrect, but still...
It's important to note that my strong opinions on this subject matter refer to those things I know to be correct (or at least pretty sure!) BUT I don't claim to be a perfect grammarian myself!
*As I said above, the verbiage I reported was by memory, so the part that says "feminine hygiene product" could've said something different, like "sanitary napkins" instead. But the main points of "throw" and "soiled" were definitely on the sign. If somebody goes to Bally's and can confirm, please do!
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