Do you check expiration dates?

It is my normal mode of operation to use these “Question of the Month” articles to explore various interesting topics in a fairly simple manner, while making an important “larger point”. This month will only be a slight, temporary diversion from the norm, taking somewhat of a break and providing some comical relief.

I recently received an interesting package in the mail from John P., one of the ministry’s supporters. It was a bulky envelope which piqued my curiosity. Upon opening the package, I discovered a salt shaker and a brief note stating the following:

“I hope you find this as humorous as I did. Perhaps I was just in a good mood. I was at a friend’s home and found this salt shaker on the table. Being a fanatical label reader, I picked it up and began reading. The label states that this salt is ‘250 million years old’. Not surprising, but then I read the label on the bottom and it said, ‘BEST BY 12 2023’. I’m glad I can use it up before it expires!”

Very funny!

Sometimes we walk into a store, and it just happens to be the last day of a week-long sales event. How lucky we may feel!

In the case of the salt, what a fortunate coincidence to have happened upon this very valuable, multi-purpose substance within the last 0.0000024% of its useful “shelf-life”! (Side note: Where did I come up with that figure? I divided the remaining years [6] by its current age [250 million years]). The obvious question is– if the salt is truly about 250 million years old, how do they know it’s just now soon to expire? And a closely related question– since the 250 million years is just an approximation, how can they be so precise with the “Best by” date?

As an added note of interest, the reason the label even mentioned the alleged age of the “Himalayan” salt was to make the point that this salt was created at a time when the Earth’s eco-environment was much more pure and pristine which, therefore makes their product more valuable than salts produced in more modern times.

Those of you who know me (and the ministry) realize I personally don’t believe the millions and billions of years designations are scientifically justified, but it is not my intention to turn this into a discussion of radiometric dating methods and the whole “age of the Earth” controversy. I simply wanted to pass along something of a humorous nature. I’m also not the kind to contact the company that produced this product to challenge them regarding their claim. Most likely, they are not experts in geology and simply had a clever marketer develop this label as an effective way to increase their bottom line. If you look carefully enough and often enough, you will find quite a few of these types of examples throughout the retail world.

How’s that for a brief article? I partially wanted to provide a slightly less serious “change of pace”, but maybe even more so, I was just too busy (with Christmas coming up in a few weeks) to write anything significantly more in depth or lengthy. (How’s that for transparency?)

Do you have to fix everything?

My first job out of college was doing field service engineering for a company that made industrial compressors. Not the kind of compressor you might find in your garage that you plug into the wall and use to pump up your car tires. These compressors were up to 13 feet tall, and some were driven by 5,000 HP motors or jet engines! Yes, pretty massive.

Are you barking mad?

If you’ve ever been to the United Kingdom or watched British movies or television, you are aware of the many unique words they use that aren’t always familiar to those of us in the US, where we speak English! 🤣 I actually think their version of our language is much more colorful and fun.

Is it just a smokescreen?

I love watching movies and documentaries about World War I and World War II. It never ceases to amaze me what those soldiers went through and the eternal gratitude we should have for their unselfish sacrifice.

Do you hate spinach?

When it comes to food, everyone has different tastes. Some people’s palates span quite a wide range of cuisine. Others, not so much.

Is it logical to be illogical?

Some questions are strange. “If you put bread in a toaster, do you put toast in a bread maker?” I thought of that one yesterday. I guess it’s just how my brain works or doesn’t work. 🤣 And then there’s another creation of mine, “How would you rate the number 7 on a scale of 1-10?” Or, “What’s the difference between a duck with one leg?”

What was discovered by the James Webb Space Telescope?

Unless you’ve been living under a rock (which might not be a bad idea right now), you’ve probably heard of the James Webb Space Telescope. It’s the largest optical telescope in space and was named in honor of James E. Webb, the administrator of NASA from 1961 to 1968.