I happened to glance at the back of a packet of plasters (band-aids, I believe in some parts) and noticed a collection of symbols that wouldn’t have gone amiss in the Da Vinci Code. Intrigued, I studied them closer. Could it be a sign that Leonardo da Vinci was really one of the disciples (or whatever than nice Mr Brown said – it all rather fades to mush). Here is what I saw:
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Starting at the top left and going anti-clockwise (I feel clockwise gets too much exposure), I know what the ‘CE’ means. At least, I thought I did: ‘this toy is safe for children in Europe.’ Okay, slightly odd, but we can live with it.
Then we get 2 with a prohibited sign. This, I suspect, means you shouldn’t use them twice. Very sensible advice.
Then there’s the word LOT in a box. Simple advertising, I think. There’s a lot in the box. It was a big box.
Finally, the slightly unnerving hour glass. I was originally going to say this meant they only last a little under half the time you think they will before they fall off, because of the amount of substance in the bottom of the glass. But then it struck me that all the sands had run through. Was this a dark warning? A voodoo curse? Anyone who uses these plasters will come to a sticky end? Very worrying.
One thing that is certain – if these symbols were intended to communicate with the purchaser they failed miserably. They all need an instruction manual or a help desk (this sort of thing) to understand what they mean. This is terrible. I don’t expect to have to call the help desk to use a PC, and certainly not to read a label!
Any alternative interpretations? Marks given for accuracy or chuckle factor.
Brian, your Da Vinci interpretation is closer than you think. There are ancient mysteries hidden in these symbols. On the bottom right sits Old Testament dude Lot. Above is his wife, turned into a pillar of salt by god, and now carried around by Lot in an egg timer.
The crossed-out 2, of course, represents the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, smited by the same deity in an earlier but related incident.
Finally, in the CE symbol, the ‘C’ represents the cave to which Lot and his two daughters retired so that they could better know each other. The ‘E’ neatly stylises the coming together of three into one as they enter the ‘C’ or cave.
That’s your lot.
As I read the post, I cam to precisely the same conclusion as the estimable Matt Brown of London—quite independently. That’s synchronicity, that is. Or morphic resonance. Or something.
What a lot of… fascinating interpretation. As they used to say advertising some magazine or other (Radio Times?) ‘I never knew there was so much in it.’
Well now we know what the next Dan Brown blockbuster will be about.