Stoned

In February of this year, I visited the local Science Center and was amused by this dispenser, set out-side of the gift shop.

Above the dispenser was a sign that these were ‘gems from around the world‘.

Clearly, something had happened because the original signage for the dispenser was supplemented after it had gone to market with a warning that these are, ‘Real Stones – Do not Eat’.

(Side note: I can also guess that the author of the sign did not know how to make a ‘¢’ sign, because writing, ‘$0.50′ is an atypical way to indicate, ’50 cents’ unless you’re working in a spreadsheet.)

It’s an odd world we live in. Unlike the vast majority of what our ancestors experienced over the millenniums, it is becoming common that the ‘nature’ we experience in our lives is simulated and that we must be warned when we are encountering the real thing, lest we eat stones from machines.