Ceci n’est pas une poubelle

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December 2nd, 2008 · 100 comments

I hereby declare the writer of the second note in this exchange (from a college art studio in Texas) the winner of the season’s official “oh, snap!” award.

(Sure, the original note-writer might have a case — but just like those pesky BCS rankings, style points count, baby!)

related: i before e except after c ftw

FILED UNDER: art · Austin · college life · garbage · oh snap · Texas

100 responses so far ↓

#1 se

I like the first note, down the side “be brave and sign your name”
I guess he ran out of ink, using it to double the letters in the note and couldn’t sign his name

Dec 2, 2008 at 11:02 pm rating: 90

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- #1.1 Dare
  
  The only thing better than leaving your name off a PAN, is signing someone else’s.
  
  Dec 3, 2008 at 12:11 pm rating: 90
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#2 Thanks!

Trash cans and life choices….hmmm..interesting I would like to meet the person whose life choices involve trash cans! I will bet they are quite a..umm…very immoral and exciting too!

Dec 2, 2008 at 11:25 pm rating: 90

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- #2.1 Canthz_B
  
  Not to mention aromatic.
  
  Dec 2, 2008 at 11:31 pm rating: 90
- #2.2 Crash
  
  Hey, those trashcan fires are great on a cold night while I’m re thinking my life choices…
  
  Dec 3, 2008 at 1:14 am rating: 90
- #2.3 You!
  
  Yesterday, I thought it was a trash can. I performed a donkey show to buy some crack, dropped out of high school, and totally did a bunch of guys because I thought it would make them respect me.
  
  …but I was wrong. I see that now. This note has saved my life.
  
  Dec 3, 2008 at 2:31 am rating: 90
- #2.4 MoxieHart
  
  Prom-night dumpster baby?
  
  Dec 3, 2008 at 8:47 pm rating: 90
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#3 Canthz_B

What? Not even a pink penis?!

I’ve come to expect more from the so called creative folks.

Dec 2, 2008 at 11:30 pm rating: 90

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- #3.1 AuntyBron
  
  Pink? In an art studio? I expect plaid or, perhaps, Dali-esque penises.
  
  Dec 3, 2008 at 10:36 am rating: 90
- #3.2 Candice
  
  Where’s Michelle when you need her?
  
  Dec 3, 2008 at 2:36 pm rating: 90
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#4 erin

one has to wonder… is it trash? or is it art that in its complexity looks like trash?

Dec 2, 2008 at 11:32 pm rating: 90

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- #4.1 Canthz_B
  
  Art is in the eye of the beholder, or the truck of the sanitation department, whichever comes first.
  
  Dec 2, 2008 at 11:38 pm rating: 90
- #4.2 Bunnee
  
  Or art that is actually MADE out of trash? (But how can you tell in that pigsty?)
  
  Dec 3, 2008 at 10:01 am rating: 90
- #4.3 reyna ulikba
  
  It’s installation art, babe.
  
  Dec 5, 2008 at 10:49 pm rating: 90
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#5 canadian deadhead

Looks like trash-talking has hit a new low (and not just with this post, either) !

Dec 2, 2008 at 11:33 pm rating: 90

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#6 Canthz_B

We all know that bio-hazard waste should be placed in the proper container in a hospital setting…but this is an art studio, dammit…I was making a statement!!

Dec 2, 2008 at 11:36 pm rating: 90

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#7 JNB

Well, that second note about summed it up.

Dec 3, 2008 at 12:08 am rating: 90

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#8 Skwerl

Could this be installation art? We could make millions!

Dec 3, 2008 at 12:23 am rating: 90

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#9 Tmarie

I actually think the second note goes beyond “oh snap!” to being a valuable life lesson.

If we all took the time to evaluate whether our expectations were reasonable, there would be fewer PANs….

Oh wait, then what would we laugh at? Where would we get our thumbs-ups and green commenty backgrounds?

Please block note #2′s wisdom from your minds, folks.

Dec 3, 2008 at 12:36 am rating: 90

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#10 HairySwede

please don’t judge my life choices.

Dec 3, 2008 at 1:12 am rating: 90

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#11 stringyhair

Damn dirty artists. I bet the second writer has dreadlocks.

Dec 3, 2008 at 1:34 am rating: 90

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#12 snee

trashcan? art studio? hospital? life choice center? soapbox?

looks like a wall to me.

Dec 3, 2008 at 2:03 am rating: 90

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#13 Canthz_B

It actually is a hospital psych ward. They just tell them it’s an art studio so they’ll shut up and do their finger paintings.

Dec 3, 2008 at 2:43 am rating: 90

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- #13.1 Sarah
  
  jesus christ, cb, is there any post on this website you aren’t all over??
  
  Dec 3, 2008 at 5:33 am rating: 90
- #13.2 Wade
  
  Sarah
  
  This is a site where we make snarky comments on passive-aggressive notes, not a place to worry about who contributes regularly. If you think it is, perhaps you should rethink your expectations in participating in this site.
  
  Dec 3, 2008 at 6:50 am rating: 90
- #13.3 Dare
  
  Sarah, Don’t worry. Canthaz has Michelle to take care of the work in his department.
  
  Dec 3, 2008 at 12:14 pm rating: 90
- #13.4 Canthz_B
  
  Sarah, many months ago I began the arduous task of trying to determine just how many comments the site administrator would allow one poster to make.
  I have not yet found that limit, so my quest continues.
  
  Dec 3, 2008 at 12:29 pm rating: 90
- #13.5 snee
  
  go for the gold, CB!
  
  Dec 3, 2008 at 2:18 pm rating: 90
- #13.6 Canthz_B
  
  I’ve got a million of ‘em, snee…much to the chagrin of Sarah.
  
  Dec 3, 2008 at 2:34 pm rating: 90
- #13.7 Ti O
  
  * in H Cosell voice *
  
  One man, one record, and you are there as he pugnaciously strives for PANgold.
  
  Dec 3, 2008 at 2:43 pm rating: 90
- #13.8 Canthz_B
  
  *in John Facenda voice*
  
  Each PAN begins as a frozen tundra. No comments litter the screen. No ideas are before us to guide us.
  Yet, there exist an intrepid few willing to strike out and make a name for themselves in this unforgiving PANscape…CB is one of these inspired few.
  
  Dec 3, 2008 at 2:53 pm rating: 90
- #13.9 se
  
  I find it interesting that Sarah seems to think that CB is Jesus Christ.
  
  Dec 3, 2008 at 2:56 pm rating: 90
- #13.10 Canthz_B
  
  I come in many guises, my son.
  
  Dec 3, 2008 at 2:59 pm rating: 90
- #13.11 RY
  
  yes, and the most believable guise is the ” I’m a friggin unlikeable loser who can only get attention online by making snarky comments and being a d****bag to make me feel better about myself” ….what a WINNER!!!
  
  Dec 3, 2008 at 3:42 pm rating: 90
- #13.12 Wade
  
  And yet there you hang, dingleberry-like, from CB’s comment, seeking attention without making a snarky post related to the note.
  
  I hope it makes you feel better about yourself, RY.
  
  Dec 3, 2008 at 3:56 pm rating: 90
- #13.13 Canthz_B
  
  Why yes, you are.
  Someday, when you can tell the difference between jokes and reality, you too may aspire to such heights, RY.
  
  Dec 3, 2008 at 3:57 pm rating: 90
- #13.14 Ti O
  
  Did I mis-interpret the tens of thousands of comments that came before and that this isn’t the snarky fun PAN site?
  
  Last time she was around CB se she thought he was god because all we could hear in the other room was her screaming “oh god oh god OOoooooh GOD!”
  
  Dec 3, 2008 at 4:03 pm rating: 90
- #13.15 Canthz_B
  
  You must have, Ti O.
  I’m obviously the only one that posts on this site more than once per PAN and would like some attention.
  Everyone else posts once and would prefer that no one read, and God forbid, find mildly amusing, what they post.
  
  Hell, I’m still trying to understand why I have to be called a duffel bag!
  
  Dec 3, 2008 at 4:09 pm rating: 90
- #13.16 anglophile
  
  Hey! You got your snarky comment in my online passive/aggressive diagnostic database!
  
  Dec 3, 2008 at 4:11 pm rating: 90
- #13.17 Ti O
  
  Well I still have my issued dufflebag and it is green, rather shapeless and at best 3-4′ tall when stuffed full. I have heard through the grapevine that you match none of these characteristics. I have a dufflebag and I know dufflebags. You sir are no dufflebag and good day.
  
  Dec 3, 2008 at 4:16 pm rating: 90
- #13.18 Canthz_B
  
  Was that Robby Benson with Danny Most?
  
  Dec 3, 2008 at 4:17 pm rating: 90
- #13.19 The Commish
  
  “Douche” isn’t the kind of word that as children would get us a mouthful of soap. It would be s****id to censor words that don’t n**d to be. See? Isn’t that fucking ri****lous?
  
  Dec 3, 2008 at 4:19 pm rating: 90
- #13.20 anglophile
  
  I am no priss, and have been known to swear once or twice (an hour), but, I have to say, I’d hesitate to say the word douchebag out loud. Maybe because I’m not 13 years old.
  
  Dec 3, 2008 at 4:26 pm rating: 90
- #13.21 Ti O
  
  *singing loud in the shower*
  “Blinded by the light. Dressed up like a douche, another runner in the night..”
  
  what? You mean that isn’t how it goes?
  
  Dec 3, 2008 at 4:37 pm rating: 90
- #13.22 The Commish
  
  I always thought it was, maybe that’s why I don’t see it as a curse word. That, and the fact douchebags were a staple in The Commish household until it was learned they do more harm than good.
  
  Dec 3, 2008 at 4:38 pm rating: 90
- #13.23 Canthz_B
  
  I just wonder why, 6.5 hours after this PAN started on all good terms, Sarah saw fit to attack me and stir a turd…and I get to be the bad guy?
  
  Not that I mind, but think before you post people.
  
  Dec 3, 2008 at 4:41 pm rating: 90
- #13.24 agatha christie
  
  Ti O, I always thought it was “Dressed up like a douche, another roller in the night…” A subtle change, but gives it significant difference.
  
  Dec 3, 2008 at 9:38 pm rating: 90
- #13.25 Wade
  
  LOL. Everyone knows it was “Wrapped up like a douche, another rumor in the night…”
  
  Manfred Mann’s mangled lyrics created a hit… and sent the songwriter, Bruce Springsteen, laughing all the way to the bank.
  
  Dec 4, 2008 at 12:10 am rating: 90
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#14 Holiday Djinn

I have seen quite a few art studios. I have seen quite a few trashcans. I still cannot tell the difference. If you wait around long enough at both, you can probably score a bj and drugs.

Dec 3, 2008 at 7:09 am rating: 90

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#15 Wade

I had the same problem in second grade art class.

“This is not an ashtray! If you think it is… wait. It is an ashtray. Never mind.”

Dec 3, 2008 at 7:30 am rating: 90

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- #15.1 Commentator
  
  Whew! For a second there, I thought you were replying to #14.
  
  Dec 3, 2008 at 9:50 am rating: 90
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#16 Debris Blanc

After re-thinking his life chices, Oscar The Grouch moved from a back alley on Sesame Street to Greenwich Village and started a small art studio where he created and sold post-modern cubist collages made from discarded soup cans and Saran Wrap. But every time he tried to go to bed and take a nap after a hard day of collaging, he woke up covered in half-empty Starbucks latte cups and used condoms. It finally got to the point that he had to say something………..

Dec 3, 2008 at 7:38 am rating: 90

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- #16.1 T.U.M.
  
  *coffee spittake*
  
  Dec 3, 2008 at 8:59 am rating: 90
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#17 Ti O

A Paris, je suis un artiste, dans le reste du monde, je suis une prostituée.
signé,
Courtney Love

Dec 3, 2008 at 8:14 am rating: 90

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#18 Ti O

You’re putting trash in my performance art. Please stop upstaging me with your own installation.

Dec 3, 2008 at 8:16 am rating: 90

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#19 0falcon8

give a hoot, don’t pollute!

Dec 3, 2008 at 8:45 am rating: 90

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#20 0falcon8

would that note be considered a trashPAN?

Dec 3, 2008 at 8:56 am rating: 90

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#21 T.U.M.

When I was walking to work this morning, I saw a note taped to a car parked at the next building. From a few yards away, I could tell it was written in bold, black Sharpie on orange construction paper. My heart fluttered in its bony cage – was I to have a PAN morning right in my own front yard?

I was crushed when the note turned out to be perfectly reasonable, sincerely polite, and impeccably spelled.

Dec 3, 2008 at 9:02 am rating: 90

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- #21.1 Goldie
  
  I know the feeling! I’ve been looking out for PANs myself. Spotted one on the office fridge a few weeks ago, but then, before I could snap a picture, a coworker tossed it into the trash. O cruel, PANless world.
  
  Dec 3, 2008 at 11:43 am rating: 90
- #21.2 Woman on the Verge
  
  I was in our copy room and saw… wait for it… a sign with clipart that said “Don’t pick your nose!” By the time I got back with my camera, it was gone. I was so sad…
  
  Dec 3, 2008 at 5:03 pm rating: 90
- #21.3 Kansas girl
  
  I do think Sharpie on orange construction paper would give a few PAN points to any note, even if otherwise reasonable.
  
  Dec 3, 2008 at 5:17 pm rating: 90
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#22 GhostWriter

This is not a trash can!

It is a huge talking Venus Fly Trap.

Dec 3, 2008 at 9:19 am rating: 90

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- #22.1 secondsout
  
  Screw those talking Venus Fly Traps! I gave one sunshine and I gave it dirt; it gave me nothing but heartache and hurt. Asshole plant!
  
  Dec 3, 2008 at 11:43 am rating: 90
- #22.2 Ti O
  
  I got killer buds, A power stem, Nasty pods , And I’m using them! So better move ‘em out, Nature calls, You got my pun? I’m gonna bust your balls!
  
  Dec 3, 2008 at 2:52 pm rating: 90
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#23 you suck at craigslist

There’s a saying around academia (or is that facebook?) … grad students aren’t bad people, they’ve just made poor life choices.

If the note writer and the responder are grad students, I think we may have just reached a moment of singularity.

Dec 3, 2008 at 9:22 am rating: 90

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- #23.1 Kansas girl
  
  An oldie, I think from the “fortune” program:
  Graduate school is the snooze button on the alarm clock of life.
  
  In other words, it’s not so much a life choice as a refusal to choose.
  
  Dec 3, 2008 at 5:20 pm rating: 90
- #23.2 Bunnee
  
  Ah, but in the immortal words of Geddy Lee, “If you choose not to decide, you still have made a choice!”
  
  Dec 3, 2008 at 5:33 pm rating: 90
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#24 biscuit

Uptight, superficial artists worrying about labels. Typical.

Dec 3, 2008 at 9:37 am rating: 90

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#25 thirty six red

Depends. Have you seen any dead kittens in there?

Dec 3, 2008 at 9:49 am rating: 90

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#26 zorinlynx

What was the note posted over? What was the item that the note writer thinks isn’t a trash can?

Without this valuable information, how are we to know just how hilarious this is???

Dec 3, 2008 at 9:49 am rating: 90

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#27 Goldie

The random bolding mystifies me. Anybody else think this is a subliminal message?

This is not a trashcan! If you think it is you should rethink your life choices!

Clearly, the note author is telling us to “Thdehin ife” our choices, but I don’t know what it means.

Dec 3, 2008 at 10:01 am rating: 90

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- #27.1 Karey
  
  Im thinking that, plus the vertical upside down phrase on the side, are being ‘artistic’.
  
  Dec 3, 2008 at 10:11 am rating: 90
- #27.2 zorinlynx
  
  There is a very subtle difference between being ‘artistic’ and being ‘stupid’.
  
  Extremely subtle, but it’s there.
  
  Dec 3, 2008 at 10:31 am rating: 90
- #27.3 Ti O
  
  I thought it was autistic.
  
  Dec 3, 2008 at 10:58 am rating: 90
- #27.4 Kansas girl
  
  I think it’s an anagram. Could be…
  Hedonistic chief, he!
  Hectic fiendish hoe!
  The fiendish choice!
  Fiendish tech ice ho!
  
  Dec 3, 2008 at 5:35 pm rating: 90
- #27.5 Ti O
  
  Mecha lecka hi! Mecha hiney ho!
  
  Dec 3, 2008 at 5:59 pm rating: 90
- #27.6 Canthz_B
  
  LMAO so hard I have to peewee!
  
  Dec 3, 2008 at 6:38 pm rating: 90
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#28 Mishee

Why does everyone keep calling poor Ike a trashcan?!

Stupid! He’s Canadian!

Dec 3, 2008 at 12:05 pm rating: 90

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#29 Dare

Please dispose of your PAN elsewhere. This is not a trashcan.

Dec 3, 2008 at 12:16 pm rating: 90

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#30 Andy

Dude, I may be in art school, but I can tell the difference between a fucking note and a trashcan. Thanks.

trashcan: where I poop
note: what I wipe with

Dec 3, 2008 at 1:00 pm rating: 90

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#31 aaa

Pssh, art studio, nothing! I’d like to see what happens in the bio labs when the bio majors make poor life choices.

Dec 3, 2008 at 1:41 pm rating: 90

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- #31.1 Canthz_B
  
  Well, just like in any Sci-Fi Channel movie, the evil Board of Directors of the college, in cahoots with a war mongering Defense Department, will try to take over the project.
  Four people will stop them. The feisty blond co-ed, the nerdy science geek with a crush on the blond co-ed, her muscle-bound yet dumb as a stump boyfriend, and the irascible quick-witted pre-teen who, driven by a bratty need to not follow instructions to touch nothing, unwittingly uncovers the key to the success of their mission.
  Boyfriend dies horrible death, nerd saves and gets girl.
  
  The End
  
  Dec 3, 2008 at 1:52 pm rating: 90
- #31.2 unholyghost2003
  
  Don’t forget … the feisty blond’s vanity will help save the day too! Her make-up, hair pins, nail polish/nail polish remover, nail file or compact will be just the part needed to make the pre-teen and nerd’s contraption work!
  
  Dec 3, 2008 at 2:05 pm rating: 90
- #31.3 Canthz_B
  
  I ♥ you, UHG2003
  
  Dec 3, 2008 at 2:11 pm rating: 90
- #31.4 Debris Blanc
  
  Don’t forget the (usually) blonde -ologist. She always looks like that girl from the auto parts calendar, but she’s really an -ologist (seismol-ogist, entymol-ogist, geol-ogist, wildlife bi-ologist or whatever applies to the monster, infestation, or disaster at hand.) She is really intelligent and resourceful, usually wears a white tank top, and gets wet a lot.
  
  Dec 3, 2008 at 3:41 pm rating: 90
- #31.5 Canthz_B
  
  Or the pragmatic brunette who has warmed our hearts throughout, but at the last minute loses her mind and runs back to save the pre-teen’s cat from certain death.
  
  The pre-teen and their pet always survive, but brunettes are fodder.
  
  Dec 3, 2008 at 5:19 pm rating: 90
- #31.6 Woman on the Verge
  
  And in the end, the nerd takes off his glasses and bow tie and… suddenly he is a babe… with a pocket protector.
  
  Dec 3, 2008 at 5:32 pm rating: 90
- #31.7 Ti O
  
  That is always the case! The Ugly duckling girl is alway some “Hottie” actress that they put horned rim glasses on and a frumpy dress. Like that hides anything! Who can’t see through this flimsy ruse?
  
  Dec 3, 2008 at 5:56 pm rating: 90
- #31.8 aaa
  
  I dunno. Superman’s Clark Kent glasses seem to fool an awful lot of people. Although, there are theories as to why nobody can seem to figure it out.
  
  Dec 3, 2008 at 7:26 pm rating: 90
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#32 Pesky Email Forwards

Ha!

These notes seem worthy of being forwarded around to appreciative parties.

Dec 3, 2008 at 2:55 pm rating: 90

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#33 Louis XIV

Je trouve toujours ceci interessant ces titres en francais lorsque rien ne l’evoque.

Dec 3, 2008 at 3:15 pm rating: 90

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- #33.1 Ti O
  
  Je ne trouve rien sur le français intéressant. Eh bien peut-être le fait que De Gaulle femmes portaient des sous-vêtements, mais dans la plus étrange façon.
  Avant-moi la dernière fois qu’un rapport était en France, ils étaient à pied de la Normandie à Berlin portait un fusil.
  
  Dec 3, 2008 at 3:52 pm rating: 90
- #33.2 St.Idjit
  
  Tish! That’s French! ;****
  
  *siiigh*
  
  Dec 3, 2008 at 5:02 pm rating: 90
- #33.3 SarahBelle
  
  Gesundheit.
  
  Dec 4, 2008 at 1:08 pm rating: 90
- #33.4 Vanessa
  
  “Ceci n’est pas une pipe.”
  
  Try again.
  
  Dec 5, 2008 at 10:29 pm rating: 90
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#34 Woman on the Verge

So are hospital, life choice center, soapbox, art studio and trash can the only choices? You have to admit, it is a very eclectic selection.

In all probability this was posted on the ladies room wall right under the sign reminding you not to flush your tampons.

Dec 3, 2008 at 5:08 pm rating: 90

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- #34.1 Canthz_B
  
  Pap art?
  
  Dec 3, 2008 at 5:11 pm rating: 90
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#35 Woman on the Verge

Oh, CB, nice one….

Dec 3, 2008 at 5:12 pm rating: 90

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- #35.1 Woman on the Verge
  
  Damn, I swear I gigglebraxed. Can I just say “sorry” and not wear the article of clothing that must not be named? Please?
  
  Dec 3, 2008 at 5:30 pm rating: 90
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#36 So close, and yet… | PassiveAggressiveNotes.com

[...] related: This is not a trash can [...]

Sep 1, 2011 at 7:42 pm rating: 90

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