[Ads-l] smombies and posting pegs

Christopher Philippo toff at MAC.COM
Fri Apr 29 14:49:33 UTC 2016


Dan Goncharoff posted about smombie in February: http://listserv.linguistlist.org/pipermail/ads-l/2016-February/140900.html

To add to the street signs warning of smombies or directed at smombies there’s now traffic lights for them:

http://www.theguardian.com/cities/2016/apr/29/always-practise-safe-text-the-german-traffic-light-for-smartphone-zombies

The above article also covers an app and special lanes for people with smartphones - one in China places them *closer* to traffic, which might be a commentary of some kind?

The Guardian had another article mentioning something I had to look up because the article didn’t explain what they were:

“Our postmen and women also use posting pegs which they use to deliver mail safely to properties where there are animals present.”
http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2016/apr/28/royal-mail-bella-cat-threatens-suspend-deliveries

“Pegs” above in the sense of clothespegs, what I’d call clothespins:

"The implements, known as ‘Posting Pegs’, resemble folding rulers.
“They enable delivery staff to push post through letterboxes without exposing their hands or fingers to the risk of being bitten by a dog inside the house."
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2038644/Postman-protector-New-gadget-saves-dogs-taste-fingers.html

Why not just postpeg or mailpeg?  PostPeg is trademarked: http://www.lexiprint.co.uk/postpeg.html

There being mail slots in the US, I wonder if those pegs are used here (or some equivalent) or not?  There’s a lot on the USPS.com website about dog bites some of which mentions mail slots, but no mention of such a device on a cursory examination, e.g.: http://about.usps.com/postal-bulletin/2010/pb22284/html/kit.htm
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