Stupid arguments I should not have had to have participated in today:

[azurelunatic]

The topic of the argument: "Throw the poison away and get some real breakfast."

Pro: me, Trendy Chick.
Con: Trendy Chick's would-be geek buddy, who thought that it was perfectly OK to leave his leftover takeout Chinese food out overnight in the bullpen on a shelf and then eat it in the morning. This wasn't stable foods like bread and raw veggies. This was takeout leftovers.

A discussion of basic food handling safety ensued, with dude holding forth that he didn't believe that such things were necessary or real -- everyone else's wussy stomachs might not be able to handle it, but he had the Real Thing, and did this all the time with no ill effects.

"Don't blame us if you DIE," I finally told him.

The discussion raged on for most of the morning without me.

Comments

[azurelunatic]

And you know, even though I have a reputation for being an utter genius amongst my co-workers, I think that this is ... um, how you say? A blatantly wrong thing that Darwin's Law should not allow to go uncorrected for too long?

I mean, it's one thing to feel like you're smarter than most of those around you. And yeah, I do reasonably often feel like this around some of my co-workers, including the supervisors. But in general, that feels more like the usual surprise at "Wait, not everyone thinks like me?" rather than "OMG WHY DOES THIS PERSON STILL BREATHE AND LIVE???"

My opinion had never been #1 topnotch, but at least I'd considered the dude of at least average intelligence. This ... boggles the brain. Quiet Geek Super was probably right. I think I might start to agree with him.

[pauamma]

Hmm, food left unrefrigerated overnight probably wouldn't kill him, but it could make his next few hours very unpleasant.

[torrilin.livejournal.com]

For a lot of the world's history *milk* was kept unrefrigerated. Also, unpasturized. So no, the leftover chinese probably *won't* kill him, or even make his next few hours unpleasant. Just, there is a chance that something nasty found it and went squee and bred like mad.

[azurelunatic]

The call center is sufficiently gross around the corners that if any of the creepy-crawly bugs that occasionally pop up found their way into the styrofoam takeout container, there are all sorts of nasty little possibilities.

This guy is all kinds of clean-freak and germ-phobic the rest of the time, but he has a curious blind spot about unrefrigerated perishable food.

[torrilin.livejournal.com]

*giggles* Germ-phobic? *giggles*

[azurelunatic]

He gets all paranoid about working in a call center and he's always borrowing hand sanitizer from someone. And then he goes and eats his overnight leftovers.

I'm probably one of the least squeamish people there, based on what Rev. Not-So-Nice Supervisor decided to do. He was putting out paper towels, which are the folding kind that come in stacks wrapped in a paper band. He put on gloves to do this, just for the hell of it. Then he got that look in his eye that means he has a great idea, and walked around offering to shake hands with or touch people. And just the sight of him wearing these latex gloves made people shy away from his touch, even though the people in the bullpen knew that all he'd been doing was putting out paper towels. I was the only one who willingly shook hands with him. The dude in question pretty much jumped.

[azurelunatic]

Evidently he has done this enough, he says, that he can eat "anything". He's generally a freak about germs, like on his hands and stuff, but this is his blind spot. I should point out the inconsistency to Trendy Chick so she can tease him about it. Why use hand sanitizer (and OMG the stuff that Stressy College Chick has makes me want to sneeze) and then eat *that*?

[hotarunokokoro.livejournal.com]

ewww! thats gross!

[azurelunatic]

And he's evidently so very smart and knowledgeable. ...Yeah.

[sithjawa.livejournal.com]

He'll probably be okay, except the malnutrition. Cheap chinese food doesn't have enough food value to be attractive to bacteria ;P

[azurelunatic]

He'll be just fine -- he's trying to trim himself down a little more. Oh, and he's become Personal Coach to Trendy Chick, because clearly the same workout that works for a man who wants to be buff works for a woman who just wants to get toned and more in shape.

[azurelunatic]

Trendy Chick added that he eventually came to the conclusion, "Hey, so maybe that's why I always have [loose stools]!"

...Only in a little more unnecessary detail. I once told Dad that "We do NOT need to hear about every squirt and gurgle," and I stand by that decision.

[azurelunatic]

the exact line involved "peeing out my butt", which was simultaneously the most evocative and most disgusting thing.