Teaspoons and car parks

[bugshaw]

At work, we have instant coffee in large tins. Some people think as we always need a spoon when we go in the tin, let's stick one in. Others think it's disgusting to have a spoon in the tin, that has been touched by lots of hands. Either way, as the tin gets moved around the spoon sinks and disappears under the coffee, and towards the end of the tin people say "Why are there three teaspoons in here?"

At work, they are building a new unit; the plan was always for four buildings but they started with three until they built up tenants/demand. They have spent a while working at the back on Building 1, flattening the waste ground, digging away - I was surprised when all that appeared was a car park. Now they have razed a large part of the existing car park, ready to put the new building in the row with the other three, and it all makes sense...

Comments

[crazyscot.livejournal.com]

In a certain outside broadcast truck, there are precisely two plastic teaspoons. One for coffee, one for sugar. They are not under any circumstances to be inserted into anything else including liquid (there are wooden stirrers for that). We were sternly warned that transgression would result in our being physically thrown off the tail lift or worse...!

[cartesiandaemon.livejournal.com]

Keep one teaspoon on top of the tin? But it only works if everyone buys into it...

[bugshaw.livejournal.com]

I will try that and see what happens. I expect someone will leave it on the side at which point it becomes a Teaspoon with Hygiene of Unknown Provenance and people will leave it there because it obviously needs cleaning and it's not their teaspoon so they won't wash it.

[cartesiandaemon.livejournal.com]

We normally make tea in mugs, and everyone uses a fresh teaspoon until we run out. I've lobbied for the last teaspoon to always be rinsed and left on the side, but it always inevitably gets thrown in the washing up. I want to drill a hole in one and tie it to the caddy :)

[ang-grrr.livejournal.com]

Long-handled teaspoon?

(I'm of the always use a clean spoon camp, although I'm really of the "too lazy to find a spoon so tip coffee into cup camp". I'd probably decant regularly from large tin to small jar that was left out for use. That a whole new can of worms*.)

*would use a fork to decant worms.

[hnpcc]

This would not work in the facility where I worked. There were never any teaspoons anywhere - they wrote a BMJ Christmas edition article where they tracked them. I kept my own cutlery at my desk and washed my teaspoon after each tea break.