I know what spindling is, and I think the deal here is that it appeared on the bottom of certain standardized tests?

I think that it appeared on a lot of punch-carded items. I believe my grandma's social security checks had it, and they were meant to go through a punch machine. When I used to play office, I would make big business-like checks and punch holes in them to make a punch card.

curse your sudden, yet inevitable cross -post!

Ah well. I was just at a diner where they spindled the checks!

I know the "do not fold, spindle or mutilate" warning, but didn't really know what spindling was.

Isn't spindling where they put it on one of those pointy metal spikes?

I was wrong about spindling, I thought it was rolling paper. Apparently it's the same as spiking it, according to wiki.

(xpost)

Spindles seem dangerous. I feel like I would have fallen on my spindle and died or something. I always thought the "mutilate" was the funny part. I never really thought about mutilating pieces of paper before being warned.

Isn't spindling where they put it on one of those pointy metal spikes?

Yes, apparently.

I mutilate a lot of paper.

When I used to play office, I would make big business-like checks and punch holes in them to make a punch card.

Dude, me too! And my grandma used to do the books for my grandfather's store on this ancient manual adding machine, with the big heavy keys and extra keys for 10, 100, 500, and so on. And a handle you pulled down instead of an enter key. And roller paper, which I suspect I wasted in reams. Or rather, rolls. I used poker chips for the money.

(I never played office the same way at home, where we had a digital calculator, although I played with the calculator endlessly. It had tiny red LED digits that you could only see at a certain angle, much like the first digital watches that only displayed a time when you pushed a button when you made them do so, and I suspect it was Not Cheap, as it was years before basic calculators became a disposable item. Playing office required cash-register-ish sound effects, and I'm sure the fact that I knew grandma was Doing The Books helped.)

I LOVED playing with old adding machines and new calculators and typewriters. One of my best afternoons was visiting an acquaintance of my mom's at a health food store where she worked. She let me price things using the handheld machine. Ka-chunk, ka-chunk. Most fun evah!

t the dweeb tag never closes

You should have seen both the 16 year old volunteer and the 20 year old college student worker's faces when I asked them about the phrase "do not fold, spindle or mutilate". It was especially funny because the poor college girl was so very hung-over and it was 8 am. I am too mean!

Also, what is this I here about ita's head (just went back and read), I think she needs a real like Dr. House. Along with my boss's father who spent 4 days! in the emergancy ward with a mystery disease that cause a rash and loss of bowel and bladder functions. They couldn't admit him because they didn't know what was wrong and he recieved crappy emergancy care due to overworked nurses even though a) my boss is a nurse and b) her husband is a nurse in the emergancyroom. My boss says she's going to charge for the servies she performed (bathing, shaving, changing bedpans, making sure he walked so he didn;t get bedsores or become immobilized). It makes me sad thinking how bad his care was WITH medical professionals ther to advocate for him. I mean, what happens to the normal people who don't lnw what is going on and don't knwo the symptoms. My boss says that they just die.