Note: the following message has explicitly NOT been approved by Jack Donaghy. (Do not be fooled by that GE logo at the bottom of the page.)
Remarkably enough, our submitter, Dan in Milwaukee, says the following message was NOT penned by a satirical television writer, but rather by an anonymous member of the office Green Police. (The two pennies — payment for 2011′s extra energy usage — were then added later by an anonymous member of the office Bullshit Police.)
This is, of course, simply a new strategy in the ongoing war being waged in kitchenettes across the world by the United League of Office Workers Who Have Nothing Better to Complain About.
related: Some of have OCD and unused microwave time drives us crazy
84 responses so far ↓
#1
Vik
What a great argument! I’ll use this on my husband!
OF course, it’s not cuz I worry about energy, it just bugs me is all!
May 9, 2011 at 10:12 pm rating: 90
#2
Worker 11811
Calling BS on this one…
Regardless of whether the display is showing the time of day or the time still left on the timer, the microwave uses the same amount of power.
Furthermore, if the display is flashing the amount of time left on the timer, the microwave is using *LESS* power because it isn’t lit for a split second each time it flashes off.
The microwave is consuming power whenever it’s plugged in even if the display is blank.
When it comes down to rock bottom, it doesn’t add up to a hill of beans unless you completely unplug the microwave whenever you aren’t using it.
May 9, 2011 at 10:13 pm rating: 90
#3
katie_2256
Did you know? Wasting paper on pointless notes like this is not only extremely annoying, but it also causes 30% of all damage to the environment? So be green. Don’t waste paper.
May 9, 2011 at 10:15 pm rating: 90
#4
Harmy G
It’s annoying when you want to know what time it is, and it’s annoying when you want to cook something of your own and have to reset the time remaining.
But, please, DO NOT use the energy consumption argument A) on paper B) using a printer, and C) that “Remaining Time” was fucking delicious!
May 9, 2011 at 10:20 pm rating: 90
#5
Electrical engineer
This isn’t even true. The LEDs themselves draw much more than the microcontroller that tells them what to do. But even that is negligible compared to cooking a meal in it for 5 minutes or drying a load of laundry or cooking something in an oven or running a car engine for 30 seconds.
Fucking hypocritical environmentalist bullshit, straining out gnats and swallowing camels.
The micro+LED uses maybe 1 W, while the microwave oven itself uses 1000 W. Stop being stupid.
“Every little bit helps” is just a way to feel good about yourself while doing absolutely dick for the environment.
May 9, 2011 at 10:30 pm rating: 90
#6
Brian
Oh, I’m sure at the vast majority of the power usage of the microwave is the clock. It can’t be the part that cooks and spins the food, can it?
May 9, 2011 at 10:44 pm rating: 90
#7
Me
Wow, this is annoying…
May 9, 2011 at 10:51 pm rating: 90
#8
Mrs.Beasley
15th Commandment: Thou shalt research outrageous claims on Snopes prior to posting know-it-all directives on office wall.
May 9, 2011 at 11:01 pm rating: 90
#9
JBee
See, and that’s why I just unplug the microwave when I’m not using it. Wait, no . . . I do that because the microwave is messed up in the brain and will randomly turn itself on if left plugged in.
The led on the microwave has to be ridiculously negligible to your power use, compared to things that most people do, like leaving your monitor on when you walk away from your desk, and leaving a tv plugged in (they are vampires even when “off” you know).
May 9, 2011 at 11:12 pm rating: 90
#10
Canthz_B
I wonder if I could get my wife to believe this. The woman never clears her microwave time. I’m not OCD about it (I just clear it), but it sure is annoying to look for the time and find it’s 57 o’clock.
May 9, 2011 at 11:20 pm rating: 91
#11
Canthz_B
It should be easy to track down the person who posted this one…just follow the carbon footprints.
I’m in love with the way the responder decided to add their two cents though…masterful to the max!!
May 9, 2011 at 11:23 pm rating: 90
#12
anglophile
My horrible boss consistently leaves 00:01 on the microwave. For god’s sake, just leave it on one more second!
May 9, 2011 at 11:32 pm rating: 90
#13
Storm Shadow
Somebody has waaaayyyyy too much time on their hands….
Bad pun fully intended..
May 9, 2011 at 11:51 pm rating: 90
#14
jadefirefly
EVEN if this was true – how much is 30% more than the usual amount of power the clock uses?
It sounds a hell of a lot more serious than it really is, when you’re not a complete retard and you realize the clock uses a negligible amount of energy compared.
May 10, 2011 at 12:06 am rating: 90
#15
Divvitar
What’s next? Poor, stupid fool goes all “Earth First” and throws a metal pan in there and presses start if you don’t clear the time?
May 10, 2011 at 12:18 am rating: 90
#16
Canthz_B
I save all of my unused microwave time. I figure I can use it in the end to put back some of the time I’m using up by smoking.
Sure, some people get upset when I make popcorn and leave 18 hours, but screw them…it’s adding up fast…I eat a lot of popcorn!
May 10, 2011 at 12:26 am rating: 90
#17
JetJackson
Did you know?
“Know what?”
The remaining time display on a microwave can use up to 30% more energy than the clock does?
*Shoots person in the head*
“Did you know that US per capita energy consumption is 12 Million Wh per year. The average led microwave light uses 3.5 Watts so with the power savings we made by despatching of you we can leave the time on 391 microwave ovens for the next 50 years.”
May 10, 2011 at 12:36 am rating: 90
#18
Dylan
Did you know that the child’s font you used will piss-off more than 30% of the adults that see your note so much that they’ll never hit that clear button?
May 10, 2011 at 5:22 am rating: 90
#19
Nope
The real problem is when the time remaining and clock look nearly identical so you can’t tell until you try to start your food that it needs to be cleared. And yes it only takes another second for the next person to clear it, but why should we have to? The inconsiderate person who is unable to clear their time should’ve taken the extra second and cleared it already. I mean if you’re going to say that’s okay you might as well say not flushing the toilet is okay, or leaving empty containers in the fridge, etc.
May 10, 2011 at 5:24 am rating: 90
#20
pizza
It took more energy to print that note then the clock/timer would use in 10 years.
May 10, 2011 at 5:52 am rating: 90
#21
muttmutt
Here’s a shot of the website posing with the original picture here in our office! It’s snark-on-snark action!
http://twitpic.com/4vvlnf
May 10, 2011 at 8:37 am rating: 90
#22
krunchbang
Dear Hippie,
I leave that time on the microwave so I know how long to cook the dolphin that I caught in a six pack ring.
Your Friend,
The Environmental Periah
May 10, 2011 at 9:15 am rating: 90
#23
Electrical Engineer #2
I am an electrical engineer and for $150 I will modify that microwave so that it is equally efficient at displaying the remaining time as it is the clock.
Let me know.
May 10, 2011 at 11:25 am rating: 90
#24
Rossy
Argue, argue, argue. Sheesh. So much fuss over a device that makes food taste horrible and go cold within a few minutes anyway. Evidently they aren’t even reliable as a clock if someone else uses it or if the power goes off. How about stop wasting energy on stupid microwave ovens altogether.
Look at all these “my husband/my wife…” comments. How many destroyed relationships? How many broken homes? How much
environmental destruction? How many
exploded bowls of spaghetti?
Microwaves altogether are the problem.
May 10, 2011 at 12:24 pm rating: 90
#25
Jiu Jitsu Los Angeles
I clear the time on the microwave, because I use the clock as my timer in the morning of when I have to run out the door. I had no idea I was being “green.” I wonder where they got their “facts”?
Ava
May 10, 2011 at 12:43 pm rating: 90
#26
HolierThanThou
I’m pretty sure that the laser printer and computer use time that led to that note’s creation far exceeded the power requirement of that blinking LED for the entire life of the machine.
May 10, 2011 at 3:33 pm rating: 90
#27
Jen
FAKE!!!
May 10, 2011 at 4:57 pm rating: 90
#28
april
I have read your responses and am surprised that nobody noticed the two pennies with the hand written “for 2011″ next to it. That is what caught my attention more that the note!
May 10, 2011 at 10:27 pm rating: 90
#29
Kittymama
My microwave’s unset clock and unused time don’t blink . . . thank you, Sharp. But yeah, there always seems to be approximately two minutes left on at the office, and it’s usually around 2 pm when I want to warm something. If it weren’t the microwave, some other shiny thing would confuse me.
May 10, 2011 at 11:05 pm rating: 90
#30
Kathy
It’s not an issue of being able to tell time on the microwave, it’s that you can’t punch in the time to heat your stuff when it’s stuck with seconds left. Oy.
May 11, 2011 at 5:14 am rating: 90
#31
Madrias
I’m the kind of person who not only forgets to clear the remaining time, but half the time forgets to close the door all the way. Then again, the microwave is usually unplugged when not in use.
As for those LED’s powering the lighted display, I call bullshit on power usage. Even if they were on full power the whole time (and they aren’t, they flicker, just really really fast. Interesting trivia: your alarm clock does the same thing), each LED pulls 20mW. Even a worst case scenario: 88:88, that’s only 562mW (560 in 4 7-segment displays, plus 1 mW each for the dots, and that’s giving the worst case scenario).
Now, let’s factor in time. Best time for ‘power saving’ would be 1:11. Why? Only 2 of the 7 in each segment is lit, and the first one’s unlit. This gives a totally wrong value (cause again, I’m basing on the LED being fully on so I don’t have to take duty cycle into it), of 122mW.
Power savings: 562 mw – 122 mw = 440 mW, or to put it in perspective, you save a whopping:
0.4 W
Yeah, less than 1 watt of power savings, assuming worst case scenario to best case scenario.
Here’s the kicker: How many of those “Left Seconds” are flashing with 10 or 4 seconds left?
Even assuming a 50% duty cycle (Equal time on as off), you’re talking a matter of a drop in the ocean of power conservation, and actually, when figuring in someone stopping a microwave with 15 seconds left, it’s more power efficient.
Now, before anyone asks for proof, buy yourself a Kill-a-Watt and pull a little DIY experimentation. See what the output difference is from the wall (cause I didn’t take into account parasitic power losses and everything, just the wattage of a standard LED) between 88:88 and 1:11 AM/PM. I’d be willing to bet that the wattage difference at the outlet side is less than 10W.
For those who did read all this, congrats. No, you can’t get your time refunded, I’m glad I took it, and maybe someone could pass this info on to the notewriter, who could either treasure it or use it as toilet paper. In all likelyhood of the second one happening, make the page out of cactus.
May 11, 2011 at 6:31 am rating: 90
#32
bamboocurl
Did you know that I pull statistics out of my ass?
The More You Know
May 11, 2011 at 9:17 am rating: 90
#33
Bonnie
OMG, I had no idea that my inability (or unwillingness) to clear the microwave bugged so many people! I thought my husband was the only one! So now I’m struggling with the desire to change: be a better person and clear the microwave….Nah! I’ll just keeping annoying all the OCD people in my life! But thanks for sharing.
May 11, 2011 at 11:54 am rating: 90
#34
what
can i
May 16, 2011 at 4:49 am rating: 90
#35
Meghan
My microwave continuously beeps every minute or so until you clear it so everyone in the house pretty much has that down by down. This, is just bullshit though.
May 27, 2011 at 8:08 pm rating: 90
#36
Micah
lol, I see that GE notice everyday when I walk to the kitchen. Glad to see I’m not the only one laughing!
May 28, 2011 at 10:01 am rating: 90
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