Now I'll just have to go to my medicine cabinet and check out all my Rx bottles. Thanks a lot Paul! :-)
My sister works at a pharmacy so I'll have to ask her about these. I've a feeling she's nowhere near detail-oriented as I am but it'll be interesting to hear her comments.
Paul this is my favorite issue yet. Fantastic topic, and I always love it when you get into the investigative reporting. The 120-label collection is a phenomenon! And the kicker of the auxiliary label dispensers. It all made me very happy!
Fascinating, as always. Thanks, Paul. I now need to: 1) get me one of those sticker dispencers; and 2) visit Paul A. Johnson's Pencil Sharpener Museum.
Prescription blanks could be an interesting follow-up. Growing up in NJ, there was a state issued blue one with the state seal that every doctor used. Now living in PA, each doctor has their own generic blank. https://www.njconsumeraffairs.gov/dcu/pages/njpb.aspx
Mystery image is a very badly done, too stylized, doctor's face. The alien googly eye is a headlamp, the line extending to the right is the headband. Descendant line along the label edge is top of head, ear, cheek. Squiggle below the googly eye is eye, nose, mouth. Of course, that is just my best guess- could also be a map of some county in NJ, telling the aliens where to land...
Every time I look at my various Substacks and wonder “Do I need to keep this one?” a post like this shows up, uncovering a little world I’d never normally think about and remembering just why I subscribed in the first place.
If we imagine the Paul Lukas hypothetical pharmacy, holy cow yes there are so many choices of labels when there is no standard look. There are some labels that are so important, maybe they should have their own color. Or maybe just “not directly contradicting,” so we make sure AM and PM have different colors, but it’s ok if “one pill every AM” is the same color as “as needed.” How on earth do we assign colors that make sense to reduce human error? This sounds like a nightmare of a LSAT logic puzzle. Sorry in advance if this triggers another rabbit hole
All I could think about while reading this was one of my favorite scenes from "Arrested Development:" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J4D6Ab6a-As
In college, I used a roll of the “for rectal use only“ stickers to label my food and prevent roommates from eating it. Still makes me laugh!
Now I'll just have to go to my medicine cabinet and check out all my Rx bottles. Thanks a lot Paul! :-)
My sister works at a pharmacy so I'll have to ask her about these. I've a feeling she's nowhere near detail-oriented as I am but it'll be interesting to hear her comments.
Paul this is my favorite issue yet. Fantastic topic, and I always love it when you get into the investigative reporting. The 120-label collection is a phenomenon! And the kicker of the auxiliary label dispensers. It all made me very happy!
Is that a pair of shorts on the "rectal use" label?
Fascinating, as always. Thanks, Paul. I now need to: 1) get me one of those sticker dispencers; and 2) visit Paul A. Johnson's Pencil Sharpener Museum.
Does it bother anyone else that the first one shows the hour hand between 7 and 8 and the minute hand at 12?
OMG, how did I miss that! Great catch, Fran.
Prescription blanks could be an interesting follow-up. Growing up in NJ, there was a state issued blue one with the state seal that every doctor used. Now living in PA, each doctor has their own generic blank. https://www.njconsumeraffairs.gov/dcu/pages/njpb.aspx
Mystery image is a very badly done, too stylized, doctor's face. The alien googly eye is a headlamp, the line extending to the right is the headband. Descendant line along the label edge is top of head, ear, cheek. Squiggle below the googly eye is eye, nose, mouth. Of course, that is just my best guess- could also be a map of some county in NJ, telling the aliens where to land...
Fascinating post, Paul! I had no IDEA there were that many different “auxiliary labels” in use.
I think that the inscrutable image is the left half of a doctor's face. They are wearing a head mirror.
Every time I look at my various Substacks and wonder “Do I need to keep this one?” a post like this shows up, uncovering a little world I’d never normally think about and remembering just why I subscribed in the first place.
The “Please Don’t Drop Me” label cracks me up. The medication is pleading for its safety.
If we imagine the Paul Lukas hypothetical pharmacy, holy cow yes there are so many choices of labels when there is no standard look. There are some labels that are so important, maybe they should have their own color. Or maybe just “not directly contradicting,” so we make sure AM and PM have different colors, but it’s ok if “one pill every AM” is the same color as “as needed.” How on earth do we assign colors that make sense to reduce human error? This sounds like a nightmare of a LSAT logic puzzle. Sorry in advance if this triggers another rabbit hole
I feel like the “Do Not Take With Chocolate, Wine, or Cheese” label is a parody.
It’s for MAOIs: https://www.pharmacytimes.com/view/6-potentially-dangerous-food-drug-interactions-pharmacists-should-warn-patients-about
I recall reading "Pennsylvaina ran out of town names before it ran out of towns" decades ago and it stuck with me.
Although, there is only one municipality in the Keystone State that called a town - Bloomsburg.
I just read about a town in NH (Sanbornton) that started out being named "Crotchville". Talk about an unfortunate moniker.