Friday, May 09, 2008

Advice for people trapped in libraries

An article in this week's issue of Oxford Student (one of two competing local student newspapers) ended with the following paragraph:

"The library advises any student who finds themself trapped in the Social Sciences Library in future to try to return to the main reception, follow signs to the fire exits or, in very drastic situations, set off the fire alarm."

I have just one question: What should people do if they get caught in the Mathematics library? (Maybe give up hope because they were there in the first place?)


OK, so I technically shouldn't make fun of things in light of the serious situation (people got trapped inside the library during a suspected gas leak that thankfully turned out not to be an actual leak), but there are parts of that specific phrasing that strike me as a bit absurd (especially when used as the ending paragraph of an article rather than directly as the public service announcement that this presumably started off as) and consequently amuse me (independent of the gravity of the situation described in the article). And, yes, I am the type of person who would laugh at my own funeral.

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