Well, this sucks.

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August 25th, 2013 · 24 comments

Danny works for a small print company in London. “Our lovely cleaner only comes in once a week, so it falls upon the rest of us to keep the office neat and tidy.” Danny says that, judging from this creation — made up hundreds of punched paper holes — “I’ve got a feeling that someone feels that they are doing more than their fair share.”

FILED UNDER: cleaning · London · office

24 responses so far ↓

#1 NoAdditives

How dirty does an office get that a once a week cleaning service isn’t enough?

Aug 25, 2013 at 5:23 pm rating: 90

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- #1.1 kermit
  
  Two words: winter boots.
  
  Aug 25, 2013 at 5:53 pm rating: 90
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#2 ejamacateme

An unused vacuum totally sucks.

Aug 25, 2013 at 6:36 pm rating: 90

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#3 Blu

Technically that’s a Henry, not a Hoover..

Aug 25, 2013 at 6:47 pm rating: 90

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- #3.1 merkin4
  
  Clever NuNu….
  
  Aug 26, 2013 at 2:25 pm rating: 90
- #3.2 MayaGold
  
  It’s a Henry the Hoover (or so say thousands of people).
  
  Aug 27, 2013 at 7:04 am rating: 90
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#4 Susie

My thoughts:
Maybe the creator chose Hoover because they couldn’t spell vacuum?

Most of the time, PA notes just point out dirty things. This is one of those rare gems that creates a holey hell of a mess to make an ill conceived point.

And finally, this looks like it took some time to do (collecting all the holes) and like it is in a well travelled part of the office, so someone would have to come in early/stay late to do this. Very premeditated, yet full of rage. Like… Murder.

Aug 25, 2013 at 8:19 pm rating: 90

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- #4.1 kermit
  
  Maybe it’s a regional thing, but I think a lot of British people say hoover instead of vaccuum because the company had a huge presence in the UK.
  
  Aug 25, 2013 at 10:07 pm rating: 90
- #4.2 e
  
  Correct. It’s like how Americans say “kleenex” for tissues. P.S. I think the creator of this paper message should have tidied up more around the edges, perhaps with the vacuum cleaner.
  
  Aug 25, 2013 at 10:10 pm rating: 90
- #4.3 ISS
  
  Nope, in the UK people incorrectly say Hoover when they mean vacuum cleaner. It isn’t a regional thing as such, plenty of people know that a Henry, or a Dyson, aren’t Hoovers.
  
  Also it wasn’t so much the size of Hoover made it a household name, it was more the fact that they were one of the first, which made them the biggest by virtue of the fact there wasn’t a lot of competition (only 1 other company actually).
  
  Aug 26, 2013 at 4:00 am rating: 90
- #4.4 GFL
  
  Yes, vacuum cleaner is the technical term and Hoover is a brand, but it’s one of those things where hoover has become the all-encompassing term. We’re aware that a Henry is not a Hoover but still call it a hoover. It’s the same way that the word “google” is becoming a generic verb meaning “to look up online” – it won’t be long before people talk about googling things when they’re not even using google.
  
  Aug 26, 2013 at 7:35 am rating: 90
- #4.5 Tom
  
  Collecting the paper holes isn’t hard in a commercial setting. They would have a dedicated standing hole puncher with a drawer below to collect the paper holes en masse. Just grab a handful and sprinkle. They probably didn’t even use half of what’s in the drawer to create their new masterpiece.
  
  Aug 26, 2013 at 12:08 pm rating: 90
- #4.6 We shall speak anon
  
  Oh yes it’s Hoover. As immortalized in some rock lyrics:
  
  Five miles out of London on the Western Avenue
  Must have been a wonder when it was brand new
  Talkin’ ’bout the splendour of the Hoover factory
  I know that you’d agree if you had seen it too
  
  (Elvis Costello)
  
  Aug 26, 2013 at 12:39 pm rating: 90
- #4.7 MayaGold
  
  @ISS it’s only incorrect if you also consider ‘saran wrap’ (Polyvinylidene chloride), ‘band-aid’ (adhesive bandages), ‘Scotch tape’ (adhesive tape) etc etc to be wrong.
  
  You cannot consider something to be incorrect simply because it is not the version you use, unless you refer to everything by its technical name – which i somehow doubt.
  
  Aug 27, 2013 at 7:18 am rating: 90
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#5 H for Toy

I love when my ads are related to the post. “Buy a Shark today!”

This is awesomely passive-aggressive!

Aug 25, 2013 at 8:35 pm rating: 90

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#6 Poltergeist

Ooh this looks nice. Obviously a very detail-oriented person. Notice how the excess paper holes scattered around the word makes it look all sparkly!

Aug 25, 2013 at 8:44 pm rating: 90

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#7 Jdaniel

I hope they are not paid by the hour.

Aug 25, 2013 at 9:46 pm rating: 90

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#8 Ruby

They seem to have spent time considering font and legibility. The slight scattering does not detract from the message. PA notes in print/graphics/ad companies make me happy.

(And yes, in the UK, every vacuum is a hoover unless it’s a Dyson, as people like you to know they spent an extra £300 on the name. Henry is still the best though.)

Aug 26, 2013 at 3:23 am rating: 90

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#9 Raichu

For all the effort it took to put together that little display…you probably could have vacuumed the floor.

Aug 26, 2013 at 7:09 am rating: 90

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- #9.1 H for Toy
  
  True, but not it doesn’t get the point across, or provide us with entertainment. Haven’t we banned reason and logic from PAN yet, Raichu?
  
  Aug 26, 2013 at 12:32 pm rating: 90
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#10 Ozymandias

I would let those hole punches stay there forever, until dissipated by winds and time.

Aug 26, 2013 at 2:24 pm rating: 90

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#11 Jetboy

Where does one even find a hole punch these days?

Aug 27, 2013 at 12:36 pm rating: 90

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- #11.1 sunshynegrll
  
  One can find a hole-punch in every office where actual work is done, and heavens to betsy, we even still use brooms when the Hoover breaks down!
  
  Aug 27, 2013 at 2:53 pm rating: 90
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#12 redheadwglasses

My spidey sense tells me that those paper holes are in Comic Sans, ALL CAPS!

Aug 27, 2013 at 2:01 pm rating: 90

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