A huge problem of ethics

[Orrex]

The vending machine guy restocked the soda machine yesterday, which is good because we were all out of FiggyFizz. As he placed cans in the holster, I appeared with coins in hand, and he gave me one right off the cart, though it was room temperature. I returned to my desk with the can but didn't open it, thinking I'd put it in our fridge when I next passed it.

An hour or so later I went to the fridge to do exactly that, and I noticed that some else had apparently had the same idea, because a can on the top shelf was already nicely chilled. I know that it was from the same batch because it had the same vending company's stamp on the bottom. It also must have been placed there yesterday, because we'd been out of FiggyFizz for a week or so, and the can hadn't been in the fridge prior to the vending-guy's visit.

So, sneaky devil that I am, I replaced the cold can with my tepid one and returned to my desk to luxuriate in cool, fizzy bliss. No harm, no foul.

But what if the other soda-drinker had wanted his/her FiggyFizz at about the same moment? He or she would find the can to be room temperature, despite having (seemingly) been in the fridge for an hour or more.

The monetary value of each can was the same, and they would be indistinguishable by one's palate, other than by temperature.

So here are the questions: Did I steal? What did I steal?

[_testify_]

1. The can in the fridge did not belong to you.

You took someone else's property and replaced it with your own.

That said, I would have done the same thing. :evilgrin:

[Orrex]

2. Maybe I can convince my soda-donor that the fridge is on the fritz

It's like deliciously carbonated psy-ops.

[_testify_]

3. Imagine how fun it could be if this were a near-daily occurrence.

Start watching what your coworker puts in the fridge and start stockpiling duplicates to swap out a few minutes before noon.

[anarch]

4. wtf is "FiggyFizz"?

Clearly, you stole someone's coldness. And thanks to the second law of thermodynamics, you'll never be able to give it back :cry:

[Orrex]

5. Damn that entropy!

FiggyFizz is a brand/flavor of soda whose cap was much beloved by Bert (of Sesame Street) for his bottlecap collection. I used it here to avoid any possible political overtones inherent in referring to one real-world brand of soda over any other.

[anarch]

6. thank God...I was afraid someone had created a fig-flavored soft drink

:puke:


Also:

Homer Simpson: Now what do you have to wash that awful taste out of my mouth?
Street Vendor: Mountain Dew or crab juice.
Homer Simpson: Blecch! Ew! Sheesh! I'll take a crab juice.

[Orrex]

7. I pickled the figs myself

There's another episode wherein Homer and Bart think they're drinking bear urine and spit it out when they discover that it's actually Shasta.

[_testify_]

9. Excellent episode!

[LaraMN]

8. You're going straight to hell.

Where they have no FiggyFizz.:o

[kay1864]

10. Reminds me of a Dilbert comic...

Which I could NOT find, but I found the text:

Boss: Due to budget constraints, the company will no longer provide free soda.
Dilbert: What free soda? We never had free soda.
Boss: Sure we did. It was in the refrigerator in the break room. Every day I'd go in there and get a refreshing beverage. The next morning, as if by magic, the soda would be replenished.
Asok: I brought a soda to work every day for five years only to have it stolen from the refrigerator every time.

Boss: (after a pause) Why didn't you just drink the free ones?