Stocking Stuffers: A Follow-Up Roundup

We have some entertaining follow-up developments regarding several recent Inconspicuous Consumption posts.

Hello! Hope everyone is enjoying a good holiday week. In the spirit of the season, I have a few stocking stuffers for you today, in the form of small follow-up developments on several of my recent posts.

Let’s start with my recent examination of the “Fig.” labels on patent drawings. That post prompted IC reader Eve Celsi to send me this amusing graphic:

(Courtesy of Eve Celsi)

It’s not clear who created this illustration (it can be found all over the internet, although I’d never seen it before), but it’s just one of many similar memes. In keeping with the season, think of that mishmash of memes as a “Fig.”-y pudding.

Meanwhile, IC reader James Poisso came across a funny “Fig.”-related passage in a YouTube video about an unusual variety of Christmas tree lighting. Here’s the relevant segment (it takes only about 25 seconds):

In yet another development, reader Nick Kissoff, who’s a former engineering professor, said the “Fig.” post reminded him about a chapter from a 1949 textbook called Technical Drawing. The book has a chapter on patent drawings, which includes the following, uh, figure:

(Photo by Nick Kissoff)

Whoa, look at the four “Fig. 1” examples at top left! All four of those styles appeared in my recent article. (Also, look at the various lettering styles used for the “Inventor:” and “By Attorney” notations. Hmmmmmm — perhaps a subject for future research!)

The graphic is accompanied by the following text:

The different views [in the patent drawings] should be consecutively numbered. Letters and figures of reference must be carefully formed. Several types of lettering and figure marks are shown; however, the draftsman may use any style of lettering he may choose.

Moving on from the “Fig.”urative realm to other topics, my recent post about “Return to Sender” symbols inspired IC reader Marty Hick to add his own pointing hand symbol to the envelope of a holiday card that he sent to me:

The snowman on the cancellation mark is a nice bonus.

That made my day. Thanks, Marty!

Finally, remember my recent examination of toilet-flush handles usually being on the left side of the tank? I thought about that while streaming the very amusing movie Hundreds of Beavers the other day. It includes a scene in which the protagonist, hoping to attract some beavers in a snowy forest, fashions a pair of “snow toilets,” like so:

Naturally, I was amused to see that the handles were positioned on the left side.

That’s it for now. But I have some really good stuff in the hopper — excited to share it with you soon.

Paul Lukas has been obsessing over the inconspicuous for most of his life, and has been writing about those obsessions for more than 30 years. You can contact him here.