this is a special note indeed.
the idiosyncratic spelling, spacing, bolding and are fascinating — i love how the third sentence is so rhetorical it doesn’t deserve a question mark — but i think what i enjoy most is the after-the-fact realization that the desired action here just wasn’t quite explicit enough.
(thanks to molly in washington, d.c. for spotting!)
33 responses so far ↓
#1
NancyCz
fabulous!
Jun 21, 2007 at 6:36 am rating: +1
#2
Heather
Well, if you’re leaving your “garage” in the sink, you’ve probably got other issues…
Jun 21, 2007 at 6:38 am rating: +8
#3
Daniel Hoffmann-Gill
Special people?
Brilliant, seems to be calling the lazy sods spastics.
Jun 21, 2007 at 6:39 am rating: 0
#4
Explainer
Hahahahaahahhaha. Great one! I’m still laughing…
Jun 21, 2007 at 6:54 am rating: 0
#5
Lisa
Perhaps the special people should be leaving their sinks in the garage instead.
Jun 21, 2007 at 7:25 am rating: +3
#6
Erin
well, I mean really, who can blame the note-leaver? It’s really hard to get water out of the tap when other people’s garages are sitting in the sink.
Jun 21, 2007 at 7:39 am rating: +4
#7
Chris
What are they talking about? The sink is the perfect place for my garage…. it helps me clean it more easily.
Jun 21, 2007 at 8:40 am rating: +2
#8
Vampira
I like putting my garage in the sink because I can just shove it down the disposal.
Jun 21, 2007 at 9:03 am rating: 0
#9
hopefulgirl
I just love that it took two notes to accomplish the purpose.
Jun 21, 2007 at 9:16 am rating: +1
#10
la pistolita
fantastic. the salutation is the epitome of “passive aggressive”
i like that they had to add as an afterthought, what the special people should be doing with their dishes. they’re special, they need it spelled out for them
Jun 21, 2007 at 9:29 am rating: +1
#11
Meeg
I like how the writer calls these people “special” but then writes garage instead of garbage.
Jun 21, 2007 at 9:29 am rating: +6
#12
Meeg
I’m not surprise the idiot who wrote this works in a DC office.
Also… don’t you think they could have just left the second note and skipped all the passive aggression?
Jun 21, 2007 at 9:31 am rating: 0
#13
Psipsina
Since it’s in DC, I wondered if the special people were contractors – you know, the people who come in for special projects. The writer is so clearly illiterate that I’m not surprised s/he couldn’t come up with the word “contractor.”
Jun 21, 2007 at 10:20 am rating: 0
#14
Goldie
This time I have to be in the minority. English is clearly not the author’s first language. Why don’t you try and write a note in… I don’t know, Russian, and I’ll be happy to grade it for you. Would you prefer me to call you illiterate or special if I find errors in your note?
Jun 21, 2007 at 10:39 am rating: +2
#15
Jane
I have to agree with Goldie – I actually work in this office, and our cleaning lady definitely does not speak English. I think this is a pretty good attempt on her part, really.
Jun 21, 2007 at 11:08 am rating: +1
#16
joebec
why does it have to be special people putting the garage in the sink, couldn’t normal people do it too? i think this note is discriminatory to special people and to people that don’t have garages. hmpf.
Jun 21, 2007 at 11:41 am rating: +2
#17
john
I also agree with Goldie. Next time I’m in Russia and someone pisses me off, I’ll try and write a note in Russian, insult the people in the process, and then let Goldie grade it.
Of course, since I don’t speak Russian, you wont find me in Russia insulting people. But you know, whatever.
Jun 21, 2007 at 12:00 pm rating: +1
#18
Rich C
I’m forwarding this one to several friends in D.C. Noticed their garages were always wet….now I understand.
Jun 21, 2007 at 12:03 pm rating: 0
#19
eh
team garage!
Jun 21, 2007 at 4:11 pm rating: +1
#20
BoggyWoggy
I like that there are 2 different colors of paper!
Jun 21, 2007 at 7:46 pm rating: 0
#21
Mike Thomas
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Jun 21, 2007 at 8:16 pm rating: 0
#22
WhatLadder
I love that second note. It’s like the co-workers were are “WTF special garage?” So there had to be a clarification.
Jun 21, 2007 at 11:00 pm rating: 0
#23
Brigid Keely
I don’t think this is a cleaning person OR a person who speaks a non-English primary language.
I work with a lot of native English speakers who leave similarly baffling, passive, insulting notes.
I will give the note points for not having stray apostrophes everywhere.
Jun 22, 2007 at 10:08 am rating: +1
#24
Goldie
John
“Of course, since I don’t speak Russian, you wont find me in Russia”
What the heck are you implying? On second thought, I don’t want to know.
The odds are high that, at some point, your ancestors’ English was worse than this poor woman’s. But, you know, whatever.
Jun 22, 2007 at 12:09 pm rating: +1
#25
Joanna
language issues or not, the fact that it took TWO notes really fits the passive-aggressive bill in my book ! love it.
Jun 25, 2007 at 7:59 am rating: 0
#26
Garr
What the fuck is the janitor doing using the computer? Hmm?
Jun 27, 2007 at 4:21 am rating: 0
#27
John
After writing this message she took the garage can out for the garage men to put in the garage truck.
Jun 27, 2007 at 6:30 am rating: +1
#28
Sara
LMAO this is the first thing on this site that has really made me laugh. I’m a sucker for silly language, intentional or not, and the special people with their garages in their sinks really just hit my funnybone. xDDD
Jul 10, 2007 at 9:49 pm rating: 0
#29
Marla Singer
I actually DO work in this office and I can guarantee that it wasn’t our cleaning lady who wrote this note, and the person who did write it is in fact a native English speaker.
Jul 20, 2007 at 2:22 pm rating: +1
#30
cattie
So it took me around 5 minutes and as many comments to figure out that they meant “garbage” instead of “garage.”
Oct 19, 2007 at 2:08 am rating: 0
#31
Erika
I know this note! I used to work at this office (and I know the “Molly” who posted it). Yes, the author is a native English speaker, and no, there are no contractors involved. In fact, it is mainly an office of women (albeit sometimes dirty women). The author meant special people as in stupid. She was kinda blunt like that.
Feb 1, 2008 at 3:45 pm rating: +1
#32 The List: Agosto de 2007 « Mollytics
[...] ‘07 Blog: http://www.PassiveAggressiveNotes.com, because I submitted this and it still makes me [...]
Apr 18, 2008 at 9:51 pm rating: 0
#33
bean
That’s sheer genius. I will never use punctuation in a rhetorical question ever again! So rhetorical it doesn’t even need a question mark; love it!
Jul 21, 2008 at 11:47 pm rating: 0
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