2297: Use or Discard By - Revision history

172.70.251.160: /* Explanation */

2024-04-04T08:44:47Z

‎Explanation

Tromag at 20:17, 10 January 2024

2024-01-10T20:17:06Z

172.70.242.197: /* Explanation */

2022-10-14T23:46:13Z

‎Explanation

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👖🔥 at 17:39, 11 May 2022

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 For many consumer goods, the expiration dates are of minimal importance, and using them afterward risks nothing more than a drop in quality. In certain cases, however, they can have safety implications. Some foods, if kept too long, become dangerous to consume. Medications can lose their potency over time, and relying on them past the expiration date could put a person's health at risk.
-In this comic, two similar emergency {{w|flare gun}}s, an item typically used to send out distress {{w|flare}}s, have slightly different expiry instructions. One has an instruction to "use by or discard by" a specific date (in this case, three days after the date of publishing).  The other has an instruction to "use by" this date. These two phrases almost certainly have the same intent. The older flares are, the less reliable they become, so the manufacturer recommends replacing regularly replacing unused flares with working ones, to ensure that working flares are available in case of an emergency.
+In this comic, two similar emergency {{w|flare gun}}s, an item typically used to send out distress {{w|flare}}s, have slightly different expiry instructions. One has an instruction to "use by or discard by" a specific date (in this case, three days after the date of publishing).  The other has an instruction to "use by" this date. These two phrases almost certainly have the same intent. The older flares are, the less reliable they become, so the manufacturer recommends regularly replacing unused flares with working ones, to ensure that working flares are available in case of an emergency.
 [[Megan]], however, seems to take the latter instruction literally, as an order to actually fire the flare gun prior to the expiration date, whether or not it's necessary. It may be taken that she <em>wants</em> the experience of firing a flare, and takes that instruction as an excuse to do so.  [[Cueball]] immediately objects to this line of reasoning. Firing a flare unnecessarily is generally a bad idea. It could summon emergency responders to a non-emergency situation, diverting emergency resources that may be needed elsewhere.  Even worse, if a flare is fired improperly, or in an unsafe direction, it could cause a fire and/or injuries, ironically creating an emergency situation, rather than signaling one.

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 ==Explanation==
-Many products carry a "Use By", "{{w|Expiration date}}", "Discard by" or similar date.  The date shows the latest date by which the product has been verified to provide its expected use. For example, a foodstuff will have a "consume by" date, showing the date after which the food may be unsuitable for eating.  For most products, this is a conservative estimate, especially if a product is kept sealed and stored in a cool, dark place. A few products become dangerous to use after that point, some simply become stale and less palatable (as in the case of foods) or lose potency. For most consumer items, there's no immediate imperative to discard a product as soon as it expires; you simply take the risk of a decline in quality or reliability.
+Many products carry a "Use By", "{{w|Expiration date}}", "Discard by" or similar date.  The date shows the latest date by which the product has been verified to provide its expected use. For example, a foodstuff will have a "consume by" date, showing the date after which the food may be unsuitable for eating. In most cases, this will be a conservative estimate, and the useful lifetime can be significantly extended by proper storage.
-One of the issues around expiration dates is that the language used tends to be arbitrary and ambiguous. Some have explicit instructions to the consumer, such as "use by:", others have instructions to the seller, such as "sell by:", still others say things such as "best by:" or "freshest before:". This can make it confusing how important it is to get rid of a given product on that date.
+One of the issues around expiration dates is that the language used is decided on by the manufacturer, making them highly variable and often ambiguous. Some have explicit instructions to the consumer, such as "use by:", others have instructions to the seller, such as "sell by:", still others say things such as "best by:" or "freshest before:". This can make it confusing how important it is to avoid using a product past a given date.
-In this comic, two similar emergency {{w|flare gun}}s, an item typically used to send out distress {{w|flare}}s, have slightly different expiry instructions. One has an instruction to "use by or discard by" a specific date (in this case, three days after the date of publishing).  The other has an instruction to "use by" this date. These two phrases almost certainly have the same intent. There would be no reason to actually fire the flare.  Even the instructions to discard the flare gun really just mean that the manufacturer cannot guarantee that it will work past the printed date, and so do not advise counting on it in an emergency situation.
+For many consumer goods, the expiration dates are of minimal importance, and using them afterward risks nothing more than a drop in quality. In certain cases, however, they can have safety implications. Some foods, if kept too long, become dangerous to consume. Medications can lose their potency over time, and relying on them past the expiration date could put a person's health at risk.
-Despite this implication, [[Megan]] seems to take the latter instruction literally, as an order to actually fire the flare gun prior to the expiration date, whether or not it's necessary. It may be taken that she <em>wants</em> the experience of firing a flare, and takes that instruction as an excuse to do so.  [[Cueball]] immediately objects to this line of reasoning. Firing a flare unnecessarily is generally a bad idea. It could summon emergency responders to a non-emergency situation, diverting emergency resources that may be needed elsewhere.  Even worse, if a flare is fired improperly, or in an unsafe direction, it could cause a fire and/or injuries, ironically creating an emergency situation, rather than signalling one. This was the cause of a serious fire at a Frank Zappa concert in Montreux in December 1971, which inspired the well known song (and infamous guitar riff) "{{w|Smoke on the Water}}" by {{w|Deep Purple}}.
+In this comic, two similar emergency {{w|flare gun}}s, an item typically used to send out distress {{w|flare}}s, have slightly different expiry instructions. One has an instruction to "use by or discard by" a specific date (in this case, three days after the date of publishing).  The other has an instruction to "use by" this date. These two phrases almost certainly have the same intent. The older flares are, the less reliable they become, so the manufacturer recommends replacing regularly replacing unused flares with working ones, to ensure that working flares are available in case of an emergency.
-The title text similarly indicates that Megan intends to follow the same instructions with a can of {{w|bear spray}}.  Since there are no bears present, she will go camping and leave her food out to attract their attention, so that she may use the bear spray to repel bears before it "goes bad".  This would involve approaching bears (close enough to spray them) and irritating them, potentially causing them to attack if the spray is ineffective or misapplied (perhaps it only works if they smell it, but Megan might spray another part of the bear), when it would be much safer to simply discard the bear spray and not get close to bears.
+[[Megan]], however, seems to take the latter instruction literally, as an order to actually fire the flare gun prior to the expiration date, whether or not it's necessary. It may be taken that she <em>wants</em> the experience of firing a flare, and takes that instruction as an excuse to do so.  [[Cueball]] immediately objects to this line of reasoning. Firing a flare unnecessarily is generally a bad idea. It could summon emergency responders to a non-emergency situation, diverting emergency resources that may be needed elsewhere.  Even worse, if a flare is fired improperly, or in an unsafe direction, it could cause a fire and/or injuries, ironically creating an emergency situation, rather than signaling one.
 Expiration dates (for food) have also been mentioned in [[737: Yogurt]], [[1109: Refrigerator]], and [[2178: Expiration Date High Score]].

@@ Line 15: / Line 15: @@
 In this comic, two similar emergency {{w|flare gun}}s, an item typically used to send out distress {{w|flare}}s, have slightly different expiry instructions. One has an instruction to "use by or discard by" a specific date (in this case, three days after the date of publishing).  The other has an instruction to "use by" this date. These two phrases almost certainly have the same intent. There would be no reason to actually fire the flare.  Even the instructions to discard the flare gun really just mean that the manufacturer cannot guarantee that it will work past the printed date, and so do not advise counting on it in an emergency situation.
-Despite this implication, [[Megan]] seems to take the latter instruction literally, as an order to actually fire the flare gun prior to the expiration date, whether or not it's necessary. It may be taken that she <em>wants</em> the experience of firing a flare, and takes that instruction as an excuse to do so.  [[Cueball]] immediately objects to this line of reasoning. Firing a flare unnecessarily is generally a bad idea. It could summon emergency responders to a non-emergency situation, diverting emergency resources that may be needed elsewhere.  Even worse, if a flare is fired improperly, or in an unsafe direction, it could cause a fire and/or injuries, ironically creating an emergency situation, rather than signalling one. This was the cause of a serious fire at a Frank Zappa concert in Montreaux in December 1971, which inspired the well known song (and infamous guitar riff) "{{w|Smoke on the Water}}" by {{w|Deep Purple}}.
+Despite this implication, [[Megan]] seems to take the latter instruction literally, as an order to actually fire the flare gun prior to the expiration date, whether or not it's necessary. It may be taken that she <em>wants</em> the experience of firing a flare, and takes that instruction as an excuse to do so.  [[Cueball]] immediately objects to this line of reasoning. Firing a flare unnecessarily is generally a bad idea. It could summon emergency responders to a non-emergency situation, diverting emergency resources that may be needed elsewhere.  Even worse, if a flare is fired improperly, or in an unsafe direction, it could cause a fire and/or injuries, ironically creating an emergency situation, rather than signalling one. This was the cause of a serious fire at a Frank Zappa concert in Montreux in December 1971, which inspired the well known song (and infamous guitar riff) "{{w|Smoke on the Water}}" by {{w|Deep Purple}}.
 The title text similarly indicates that Megan intends to follow the same instructions with a can of {{w|bear spray}}.  Since there are no bears present, she will go camping and leave her food out to attract their attention, so that she may use the bear spray to repel bears before it "goes bad".  This would involve approaching bears (close enough to spray them) and irritating them, potentially causing them to attack if the spray is ineffective or misapplied (perhaps it only works if they smell it, but Megan might spray another part of the bear), when it would be much safer to simply discard the bear spray and not get close to bears.