I am going to Hell for thinking this is funny. September 6, 2007 Jill But damn it, I do. (Before people get all irritated, I am not laughing at baby-dumping. I am not condoning baby-dumping. I am, in fact, against baby-dumping. But I still find the picture hilarious.) And Lauren sent this to me, so blame her.
I find this almost as funny as the stickers on large plastic storage boxes that you buy at say, Target. The ones with the silouette of a baby in a box, and the red line through it. I know it’s terrible, and that there must have been liability concerns to get them to put the stickers on the lids, But the image- and the notion of keeping a baby tupperware fresh- is just really funny to me. So, I’ll see you in hell.
Hehe, I laughed, too. Three going to hell, then. Anyway, the sticker might be the other way round in Germany because women can anonymously “dump” their babies in the so-called baby hatches. There’s a bit of discussion now because the numbers of babies found dead has soared a bit and some people suggest to abandon the idea again. OTOH Hamburg, where the first hatch was installed, hasn’t had one dead or otherwise abandoned baby since then. There’s no other legal way to give up a child anonymously here and you can later go there and get the baby back (and get qualified help).
In all fairness, that is fantastically awesomely funny. I like how the baby is wearing a diaper. “I am going to toss you, baby, but god forbid you pee on the garbage”.
I like how the baby-dumper is in her best starched A-line skirt while she baby-dumps. And how the nurse is also gendered and wears a uniform several decades old.
I’m going to assume this is some PSA for a “safe surrender” law? We have such a thing in Louisiana, where a mother can anonymously give her baby to personnel at any number of places, like hospitals, fire stations, police stations, etc. and not face any prosecution. The one caveat is that she must give the baby to a PERSON, not just leave it on a doorstep. We recently had a case where a mother gave the baby to paramedics in an Arby’s parking lot — as they were medical personnel, it was considered an appropriate use the law. Officials here are trying to better publicize the law — everyone acknowledges it’s not the best way to deal with an unwanted child, but it’s certainly better than the dumpstering option.
Dang, I was going to mention the rubbermaid do-not-store-your-baby-in-this-box stickers, but sunburned counsel beat me to it. I’d seriously like a roll of those things.
I think the A-line skirt is just there to balance out the nurse’s hat. Nurses haven’t worn those for 25 years or more, AFAIK. Except p*rn nurses, of course, and although I’m no fan of baby-dumping, I don’t think donating your baby to p*rnography is a better idea.
That’s awesomely funny. Kind of like those messages on plastic bags that tell you not to leave them in cribs. Because I really thought my baby would have fun with a piece of plastic.
My bad thoughts re: babies dealt with the large billboards in Austin several years ago that read “NEVER SHAKE A BABY!,” which I imagined remixed as that Kids in the Hall sketch where a guy is thinking to himself “NEVER PUT SALT IN YOUR EYE” over and over until it becomes “PUT SALT IN YOUR EYE” with disastrous results.
Along the lines of the rubbermaid warnings… I like how on the box of Clorox wipe-ups it also warns to not use them for diaper changes.
Like Sunburned Counsel and Vanessa, Sue and I both find the no-baby-in-Tupperware stickers hilarious. Although it’s a shame there’s not a similar sticker for cats — our two are usually hell-bent on climbing in if we leave a storage tub open on the floor.
JW, my sister graduated as an LVN in 2006, and they had to wear those hats at their graduation. Oh, there was much laughing and referencing of Nurse Ratched and Florence Nightingale!! On topic, I also think the picture is pretty funny!
I think it’s extra funny that the baby is sailing/tumbling upside down. It looks like it’s cartwheeling. That, or like the woman threw it up as high as she could.
That, or like the woman threw it up as high as she could. Yeah, she’s graduated from pregnancy, and that’s the equivalent of tossing the funny hat in the air. As to the rest of it, I am laughing my ass off but not going to hell, as it seems to me that the sign is condoning the giving of babies to medical personnel rather than throwing them away, and it does a fine job of that, and I don’t see how its hilarity detracts. Quite the opposite, actually. It’s a public service announcement that manages to be funny, and is therefore more likely to be remembered.
I like how the baby is wearing a diaper. “I am going to toss you, baby, but god forbid you pee on the garbage”. Well, the mother wouldn’t have much use for a diaper after tossing the baby, would she? Not a dirty one, anyway. Maybe she could use a clean one for waxing her car or something.
Other silly baby warnings: Warning seen on a collapsable stroller: Remove baby before folding stroller. Then again, maybe they are needed. Remember those sunshades that you can put in car windshields to keep the interior from becoming too hot? Back when I had a car, I had one of those and always thought that the warning “remove shade before driving” was incredibly silly. Who could be so brain dead as to not remove a huge piece of cardboard that blocked the entire front windshield? Then I saw someone driving with it in place… Anyway, the Hell express is going to be crowded, because I find the anti-baby dumping sign sickly amusing too. Why is the baby dumper in the “doing it right” picture wearing a blindfold? Or is that a bandage from getting beat up, probably for something having to do with the baby?
I emailed that to my mother, and her response: “Now see, honey, the throwing technique is all wrong, it needs to be more of a discus-like throw…” I love me Mum. 🙂
Nurses haven’t worn those for 25 years or more, AFAIK. Except p*rn nurses, of course – JW I have a friend who’s a nurse. I wouldn’t be too surprised if he wore a get-up like that.
Vanessa: you can find more stick figures than you can shake a stick at in the flickr group Stick Figures In Peril. I’m sure there’ll be something there.
From a recycling operation website: “Labels are OK. Rinse clean, take off lids, separate by color and place in separate recycling compartments.”
***Why is the baby dumper in the “doing it right” picture wearing a blindfold? An anonymous, no questions asked baby dump.
An anonymous, no questions asked baby dump. That would require the nurse to wear a blindfold. Why would the mother not see the face of the nurse?
Although it’s a shame there’s not a similar sticker for cats — our two are usually hell-bent on climbing in if we leave a storage tub open on the floor For our cat it would have to be a warning against peeing in the storage tub, and imagining the label for that is making me laugh almost as much as the anti-babyhurling warning above.
>>>An anonymous, no questions asked baby dump. >>>Why would the mother not see the face of the nurse? Because of the “Ravenous Bugblatter Beast of Traal” rule: If you can’t see it, it can’t see you. Ok, that’s all I’ve got. 🙂
DAS–Is your friend a super-sexy nurse or a p*rn actor? Or just retro-stylin’, like ginviren’s sister and her colleagues? More imporantly: is he willing to accept babies from blindfolded women in A-line skirts?
Upon slightly closer examination, I don’t think it’s a blindfold. I think it’s some kind of Zorro mask. One must cover the eye area in order to not be identified, apparently. A paper bag would be more effective.
I think it’s some kind of Zorro mask. Zorro is cross-dressing and abandoning his baby! Re: stick figures in peril: My high school chem lab had the most awesome stick figure warning cartoons hanging on the walls. The one that really sticks out in my mind is the one screaming in pain with a glass pipette jammed through his hand.
That’s awesomely funny. Kind of like those messages on plastic bags that tell you not to leave them in cribs. Because I really thought my baby would have fun with a piece of plastic. Actually, since I became a parent this warning has started to make a bit of sense. How can I prevent my baby’s leaky diaper from ruining the mattress? Why not just wrap it in a Hefty bag? And my 9-month-old loves playing with plastic grocery bags. Something about the crinkling noise is irresistible to him.
And my 9-month-old loves playing with plastic grocery bags. Something about the crinkling noise is irresistible to him. My cats like to lick them. It’s so hilarious, because they go all cross-eyed staring intently at it, and you see their little tongue flicking out from the other side of the clear bag. I’m laughing a little right now just thinking about it.
My cats like to lick them. It’s so hilarious, because they go all cross-eyed staring intently at it, and you see their little tongue flicking out from the other side of the clear bag. Pablo is an incurable bag licker. He’s figured out how to open the bathroom closet so he can lick the toilet paper plastic while I’m at work. ALL DAY.
Oh, my, it’s about the twentieth time I’ve looked at this and I’m still snortling at it. Unwanted stick-figure baby is funny.
There’s a children’s hospital in my neighborhood (the Longwood area in Boston), and nearby is a big yellow sign basically saying “Please give your baby to a nurse, we won’t ask questions, just pleeeease don’t leave it on the street D: “
My cats like to lick them. It’s so hilarious, because they go all cross-eyed staring intently at it, and you see their little tongue flicking out from the other side of the clear bag. I’m laughing a little right now just thinking about it. Omg, I thought I was the only one whose cat did that. My cat would go mental for plastic.
Our cat is an incurable plastic-licker too! (Actually, as I look over, he’s licking the wrapping the toilet paper comes with right now.) I’d never heard of other cats doing it and I thought it was just Gatsby. Proof that there’s not just feminist learning to be had here.
I’ve heard of cats intently licking/chewing on wool sweaters, but I too thought my cats were the only did that. The others didn’t do it until we got our third, who already had the habit.
Our cat used to have intimate moments with teddy bears and went catnippy over my husband’s used t-shirts.
To date, the funniest warning sticker I’ve found has been on my grandfather’s Bush Hog, where advice to stay away from the axle is illustrated with a picture of Poor Mr. Stick Figure wrapped no fewer than three times around said axle. And he has those “distress! Oh, no!” lines coming out from his head as if to assure us that, yes, getting wrapped three times around the axle of an industrial brush cutter is extremely uncomfortable. I do also love the sticker on the backs of the visors in my car warning me not to put a baby seat in the front seat. Apparently, the airbag knocks the baby’s head clear off, resulting in more “distress” lines. I guess that’s uncomfortable, too.
the funniest warning sticker I’ve found has been on my grandfather’s Bush Hog, where advice to stay away from the axle is illustrated with a picture of Poor Mr. Stick Figure wrapped no fewer than three times around said axle. And he has those “distress! Oh, no!” lines coming out from his head as if to assure us that, yes, getting wrapped three times around the axle of an industrial brush cutter is extremely uncomfortable. Oh my god. I love that warning label. My favorite was on one of my saws, I think. It was a stick figure holding up its arm with drops of blood fountaining from the end. The funny thing about it was the lack of distress lines…
It’s perfect that you posted this now, because I’m going to hell for thinking this is funny (it’s on the same subject).
