MetaChat - Sacrificed on the altar

MetaChat is an informal place for MeFites to touch base and post, discuss and chatter about topics that may not belong on MetaFilter. Questions? Check the FAQ. Please note: This is important.

08 November 2005

Sacrificed on the altar →[More:]What's the deal with the little stuffed toys tied to the grills of trucks?

post by: Capn at: 11:22 | 15 comments

Scavenged from the trash, or so I've heard. You see them on garbage trucks.

I'm not sure WHY they do this, though.

posted by selfnoise 08 November | 11:25

To make a little kid's dying thoughts happy ones, as he gets mowed down by the truck?

posted by knave 08 November | 11:39

It's like a figurehead on a ship. Ornamentaion, nothing more.

posted by eatitlive 08 November | 11:44

Scavenged figureheads.

Ha! I finally have a band name.

posted by deborah 08 November | 11:49

Why are abandonded gas stations in the US always painted really dark grey? I've never knowed this.

My husband says it's so they blend into the scenery, but I've never seen any really dark grey scenery.

posted by iconomy 08 November | 12:04

They're not painted iconomy, all the colour is sucked out of them, reclaimed, processed and used to make children's breakfast cereals.

No one is talking about this, but we're going to hit peak Boo-Berry sometime between 2008 and 2036.

posted by Capn 08 November | 12:06

I'm pretty sure that their franchise agreements require them to remove/paint over any logos or company colors when they shut down. Image, you know.

posted by dhartung 08 November | 13:55

The Capn would know.

posted by tr33hggr 08 November | 14:09

That makes sense. I just wondered why it's always that same exact, very depressing shade of dark grey, though. It reminds me of a war ship.

posted by iconomy 08 November | 14:09

I would hazard that the gas stations are painted because most oil companies can be identified by color (red and blue-Chevron, yellow and red-Shell, green and white-BP). Having a derelict station is bad for the company's image.

But I like Capn's explanation better.

posted by Mr T 08 November | 14:47

I'd trust Capn's explanation if I knew his last name was Crunch.

posted by wendell 08 November | 15:11

Last Stop for Gas on the Via Dolorosa

The first station is condemned to die.

The second station carries its cross.

The third station falls for the first time.

The fourth station meets its mother.

Simon helps the fifth station carry its cross.

Veronica wipes the sixth station's face.

The seventh station falls the second time.

The eighth station meets the women of Jerusalem.

The ninth station falls the third time.

The tenth station is stripped.

The eleventh station is nailed to the cross.

The twelfth station dies on the cross.

The thirteenth station is taken down from the cross.

The fourteenth station is laid in the tomb.

The station is risen.

posted by Hugh Janus 08 November | 16:12

Awsome Hugh, simply awsome.

posted by Capn 08 November | 16:19

That's the coolest thing I've seen on the internet in ages, Hugh.

posted by goatdog 08 November | 17:14

No one is talking about this, but we're going to hit peak Boo-Berry sometime between 2008 and 2036.

posted by Capn 08 November

Wow. This calls for individual sacrifice. I, Laura Jane, make this vow: I will forswear all Fruity Pebbles, Fruit Loops, and Lucky Charms.

posted by Secret Life of Gravy 08 November | 17:28

← Hooray! || Toys! →

HOME || REGISTER || LOGIN