Printer Envy

Claim:   Photograph shows an unintentionally humorous warning sign placed on an out-of-service printer.

Status:   Undetermined.

Example:   [Collected on the Internet, 2005]

Must read the short story before opening picture A co-worker got a pen stuck inside the printer just before we had to go to a meeting. He started to try and remove the pen, but I told him "We don't have time for that now, just put a note on the printer telling folks not to use it and then report it to the Help Desk." So he grabbed a piece of paper and scrawled on it. I left before he finished the note. Later, one of my techs comes in laughing and says he was just in the lobby, saw a piece of paper on a printer and went to investigate. Attached is what he found. Sometimes things don't always come out the way you want them to. NOW OPEN THE PICTURE

Origins:   There's not much to go by here to determine whether the origin of the image displayed above is as described, but other legends, such as one involving an opera singer, also play on the orthographic similarities between the single word "penis" and the two-word phrase "pen is."

As well, similar unintentional humor occurs in legends based on the homophonic similiarity of other common words to "penis" when pronounced by non-native English speakers.

Last updated:   1 March 2005