Tuesday, December 16, 2008

Also this


Ryan found this in an office in Seattle. I don't even know what to say.

60 comments:

HorribleLicensePlates said...

This is hilarious!

Unknown said...

Perhaps it somehow uhh... symbolizes that sound comes out of it? I'm at a total loss. Somebody went to some degree of trouble to add those quotation marks, so... huh.

Grant Fikes said...

Maybe it was spoken into existence, like God said, "Let there be fire alarms".

Greg said...

No guys... this alarm doesn't warn of fires, it does the opposite. It starts fires.

Bill said...

Those pesky health & safety people kept bugging us about not having a fire alarm, or pest control, or sinks in the bathroom. So we bought this broken fire alarm for 50 cents on ebay. The quotation marks serve (a) to inform employees and visitors that they're not actually protected from fires and (b) to mock those whiny little inspectors ("get a fire alarm! get a fire alarm! nnnyeahh!!" You happy now?).

rpophessagr said...

"No, you've completely taken that out of context. I wasn't actually saying anything about a fire."

Sara said...

This is the greatest one you've ever posted.

Thank you!

Jösh said...

oh my god...thats awesome.

my favorite theories so far are "Let there be fire alarms" and "It starts fires." Good thinking guys.

keep it up:)

Dim said...

Best post ever. I love how the quotation marks look like they're from a stencil or something-it may not make any sense, but at least the quotation marks look professional.

ern0 said...

It's just another gloriuos victory of the crew which quotes everything.

Dimity: yep, it is not an amateur work.

I think this photo is taken in a fire alarm shop, where you can try the devices, so that's why they sound is quoted: if it plays the alarm sound, it's not a real alert, just a test - "fire!".

There's no other explanation.

smauge said...

Best post "ever"

john said...

i'm guessing the office it's in has a quotation marks theme going on... aside from that, i'm lost. i don't even get how it could be a joke.

Bruce said...

So, does it sound an "alarm" when there's a fire, or does it sound an alarm when there's a "fire"?

FlagFreak said...

Whoa. This is a classic.

Anonymous said...

Who else stared for a little while trying to work out where the funny quotey marks were because you were looking at the word "fire" and squinting to see the words under it?

I'm tired, okay?

Cheryl said...

What does that even mean? I laughed out loud!

ry said...

I think this is intended for when the alarm goes off.

It signifies that the sound you are hearing is not its own original thought, but merely a reproduction of another, wiser, alarm.

Matt said...

Maybe it's not a real one, or maybe you don't have to send the alarm only in case of a fire. It could be for any emergency. Random.

Derdrom said...

I guess we should take it sarcastically. The quoter must be displeased that their work will almost certainly only see use for fire drills and possibly from lame pranksters.

Meeg said...

I love it. It's almost an art installation.

@wendydesigns said...

@Bruce - I almost spit out a mouthful of water reading your comment!

I have to remember this blog deserves a beverage warning.

bethany said...

that's it, the people have spoken. This one is going in the greatest hits.

nofrog said...

it means fire, literally, not prone to misinterpretation or jokes

nofrog said...

or precisely the opposite! hahaha

Michelle said...

I've racked my brains for the meaning of this and all I can come up with is someone was desperate to get on this blog.

Becky said...

Of all the unnecessary quotation marks, this one might be the most unnecessary. Hilarious!!!

Tiffany Chantel said...

LMAO

Unknown said...

I LOVE THIS. My Freshman year of college, the fire alarms in our dorms went off/were pulled thirty-six times. I completely understand the quotations around the alarm :)

Man of All Thoughts said...

No, the sign's right, it's not a fire, it a tornado!

AHHHHHHHHHHH!!!

Keep up the great work, you blog is fantastic.

Man of All Thoughts

lizzie said...

Excellent!

And unlike so many "handwritten" signs on this blog, this one has been "professionally" made.

Samuel Rowe said...

This is obviously the next winning entry for the Turner Prize! It symbolises the mixture of art and safety in modern day society.

Anonymous said...

guess it's a musical box!

J. M. Richards said...

Yup, this is definitely an all time fave.

Virginia S. Wood, Psy.D., Instructor said...

That's a total winner.

Justin said...

It's awesome. That's what to say.

Elizabeth said...

I've heard that instead of shouting "help" if you're in trouble it is better to shout "fire" as people are more likely to lend aid if you shout the latter rather than the former.
This is obviously some sort of help alarm masquerading as a fire alarm to get attention.

jansukses said...

The best word to describe the picture is that is an alarm fire which will be loudly when temperature around it has been changed extremely (to be heater because a conflagaration has found).
i bet it will the best answer!

Unknown said...

I could be wrong, but those quotation marks kinda look like 66 99... Perhaps this object attracts more attention with sixes and nines around it... Or, maybe someone famous installed the fire thing and wasn't given proper credit. I don't know, man. This is freakin confusing.

gseth78 said...

This isn't "really" a Fire Alarm.

Anonymous said...

I don't know what to say about that one either. lol.

This site is a riot.

Pontifex said...

Don't you guys get it? Clearly this device plays the 1967 Jimi Hendrix hit "Fire" when properly activated. Duh.

Unknown said...

I'm pretty sure BillP got it right. It's not actually a fire alarm. It's a "fire alarm." It presents itself as a fire alarm, but it is not one. The quotations are a disclaimer, in case anyone confuses it with a real fire alarm.

wahida said...

i LOVE this.

Unknown said...

This makes perfect sense. Every time I've ever heard one of these go off, it has been because of a "fire."

Avyn said...

My theory goes as follows: it's a "fire" "alarm" "." That is, instead of alarming people in case of fire, it alerts the "people" in charge (read: soulsucking managerial "life-"based carboforms) that the temperature of fun (don't ask; I don't know) is rising to "dangerous" levels and dispatches the Killjoy Squad to "deal" with "it" "."

Avyn said...

Gotta love food "!"

Avyn said...

I've got it!!!!!!!!!"("'!'")" Instead of making an annoying buzzing sound and strobing all the while, it says "Fire.""Fire.""Fire." over and over, pulsing the strobe in unison with the monotone excuse for a human voice! It all makes sense now!!

toep said...

Perhaps the quote marks were there first? Between them was written in much smaller font " insert alarm here " Building codes often specify how many alarms are needed and where they should be placed. So to aid the construction workers--

Just when i think i've got it figured out who is more right Elizabeth or Bruce, along comes John.....

What i really love is that months later people are still commenting on this!

Avyn said...

Previously known as John.

Jenna said...

Haha it makes you wonder if the alarm is actually going to work or it's just a joke.
Great finds!

datfri13 said...

In the fire alarm business that device is called a horn/strobe.
In this case it would be a so-called horn/strobe.

Avyn said...

It's obvious: this thing doesn't make its own noise and sound, but instead it merely copies the noise and strobe of the alarm across the hall"." Occam's razor just gave my ego razor burn"."

Amanda said...

Maybe they're trying to "sell" it and the "asking price" is "$66.99"?

Unknown said...

I just spent the funniest hour of my life in the dentist's office reading your book. I made a complete idiot of myself laughing until I cried! I went right out and bought two of them as Christmas presents. I still hate going to the dentist, but it sure did make this trip easier. So, so funny.

bethany said...

thanks, Amy! I am glad you enjoyed it.

lightheskyonfire said...

hi uhm
I actually think it indicates that you speak to an emergency telephone operator through it...
:(

datfri13 said...

It appears to be a standard Simplex brand horn strobe like those I have installed when I was doing that kind of work. There is only a power wire connection which operates the sound and light features of the horn strobe when the alarm is activated. The main panel is connected to an auto-dialer which calls the monitoring station or local fire dispatcher.

Project 100 Ways said...

This is what happens after too many drills. It says "fire" but never really means it. Beautiful work.

kalgal5 said...

is the "fire extinguisher" ad at the bottom of the "fire alarm" comments a happy accident -- or did someone at Home Depot actually have a sense of humor and run it there on purpose? Oh please, does anyone know?

Fonebone said...

I have the answer. The quotation marks are present so that the fire alarm fully complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act. You see, deaf people see the alarm light and know that it is a symbol. Since symbols such as sign language represent actual words to the deaf, seeing the alarm light is akin to someone yelling, "Fire!" to them. There is a little-known clause in the A.D.A. which stipulates that all emergency postings must be grammatically correct. Fire marshals frequently pull this one out when they can't find anything else to cite you with.