And that…
54ff/1239740310-1239724483589.jpg What’s that thing? And why is it sticking out of the window at the Swedish Medical Center? And isn’t that the maternity ward? If so, and if that thing is what I think it is, then what kind of message is it sending out the window? Maybe it’s an SOS of some sort (“Save [us from] Our Seamen”)? Or maybe it’s communicating something similar to the words of the priestess of all sisters in distress, Lady Hill:

Girls you know you betta watch out
Some guys, some guys are only about
That thing, that thing, that thing
That thing, that thing, that thing

Charles Mudede—who writes about film, books, music, and his life in Rhodesia, Zimbabwe, the USA, and the UK for The Stranger—was born near a steel plant in Kwe Kwe, Zimbabwe. He has no memory...

22 replies on “Das Ding”

  12. Maybe it’s a tube so Mom can cheat smokes in her room?

    SOS doesn’t stand for “Save Our Seamen” (or anything else), by the way.

  13. I wonder what SOS was in German? At least the French version made sense, but does anyone know if it was something understandable?

    And how can sticking a plastic air tube relate to an SOS – or is it a symbolic finger pointing at the flag(s) that’s a reference to an “SOS”?

  15. What in the FUCK are you talking about, Will? SOS is the same in every language — it’s the INTERNATIONAL Morse Code distress signal. In French, it’s “SOS” (…—…); in German, it’s “SOS” (…—…); in Hindi and Vietnamese and Nahuatl, it’s “SOS” (…—…).

    The letters don’t stand for anything, in any language, and never have. Some people may have made up mnemonics to remember it by, but that means nothing.

  17. I know nothing about Nahuatl (except that “chocolate” and “tomato” come from it), but I do know what “international” means.

  18. S.O.S was chosen as the letters for distress because they’re easy to type (in Morse) and easily understandable by people who don’t know Morse code.

  19. I KNOW you did not just implant that fucking stupid song in my head. Oh, wait, you totally did. AURGH! :stab:stab:stab:

  20. Will, of course, is obviously thinking of the French “m’aidez,” which has become “mayday.” So he’s only half wrong. Sadly, there’s no such thing as being half an idiot, though.

  21. oooooh. I get it. See, it’s funny because he was implying that white thing looked like a penis. It all makes sense now! Oh lord, that is so funny—the fact that something somewhat resembled a penis. See, you look at the picture and say: “Hmm, I wonder what that big white thing is.” And then you’re like, “oh, it looks like a penis”. That’s why it’s so funny. Looks like a big penis.

  22. @19, so when you’re near me, darling, can’t you hear me, SOS. And the love you gave me, nothing else can save me, SOS. When you’re gone, how can I even try to go on? When you’re gone, though I try, how can I carry on?

    Those chords around “how can I, even try” are magical. I’m sure that’s what you meant.

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