July 28th, 2011 / 6:27 pm
Craft Notes

!!!

Holy shit, this package of hot dogs can be resealed! Using an exclamation point here seems like overdoing it. But on the other hand, including the word “Resealable” itself is redundant because the red line on the back of the packaging, that plastic zipper, says it all. That plastic zipper is a word that says, “Resealable.” But maybe it says that for people looking at the package online. Because OMFG, BallPark has an awesome website.

What do exclamation points do for you? I love them. Take Mairéad Byrne’s poem “How to Say Thanks When You Mean It But Don’t Really Have Time Right Now,” which goes, simply, “Thnaks!” — using an exclamation point means never having to spell things right. I use exclamation points because I think they tell the recipient of my email how excited I am to be emailing them, and how excited I am that they are alive.

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26 Comments

  1. Trey

      Your last sentence describes the way I use exclamation points also!

      Except it doesn’t account for when I get excited to have something in common with a stranger.

  2. Guestagain

      these angus beef hot dogs are so good, we call them franks! bun size? why not!

  3. Darby Larson

      coworker and i just iming today about another coworker who uses an exclamation pointed elipsis “…!” at the end of every sentence in emails. so it looks like this…! all the time…! nothing he is saying is particularly exciting, its just his signature period.

  4. Nuitnuageuse

      Too bad they say “line-up” with a hyphen. So unnecessary! 

  5. deadgod

      Maybe he’s ‘writing’ fields of anti-grav obelisks. 

      Ozymandalisk.

  6. deadgod

      redundant

      and “franks” is also redundant too

      storytime:  what would people do with that zipper if they weren’t told “resealable”

  7. Cameron Pierce

      Today I went to a food cart called Bro-Dogs and got a vegan hot dog with a bunch of grilled vegetables piled on it. It was worth all the exclamation points in the world.

  8. Darby Larson

      was kind of thinking the dwindling ellipsis and the excited exclamation cancel each other out in a way, so ends up equaling a period. that or its like a build up to a sneeze and then a sneeze! or its just an intense exclamation, like he wants silence first so that it hits you harder.

  9. postitbreakup

      Probably cut it off when they opened the packaging, I mean, without the word “resealable” how would they know not to? haha

  10. postitbreakup

      had an ex-boyfriend who only ended sentences in ellipses, drove me crazy, made me mentally attach a dismissive “if you say so….” to the end of every text

  11. postitbreakup

      My first reaction was “isn’t it kinda ridiculous to pile vegetables atop vegetables” but then I thought how much I want a bacon-double-cheeseburger.

  12. Don

      Does Mairéad Byrne have a new book coming out soon?  I loved the last one!

  13. Matthew Simmons

      Now I’m just thinking about Hideki Irabu again.

  14. deadgod

      yes, that last theatricalization – like waving hushing arms before a sneeze

  15. Leapsloth14

      This bums me out because Adam has sent me exclamation mark emails…

      In other news. The punctuation mark is ridiculed because it used for melodrama in beginning writers. I read a LOT of exclamation marks in class. But I think the !!! does need a vintage remake, a do-over. It can be used to great effect.

  16. Tummler
  17. Tummler

      This.

  18. postitbreakup

      an exclamation point is the erect form of a semicolon

  19. postitbreakup

      ( a question mark is an exclamation point that has been earnestly pulled )

  20. Otto Squeepopperific

      I invented using exclamation marks as an semantic entity unto itself, e.g. as an independent line of text in chat, the subject of an email, or even as the title of a blog post. my gift to the internet. you’re welcome.

  21. Bethany

      I learned in 3rd grade Spanish that they get to use them before and after the sentence, ever since then our way just seemed a little lackluster.

  22. Benjamin Grislic

      No you didn’t. There’s been a band named !!! since ’96.

  23. Anonymous

      i invented using the apostrophe before years.

  24. deadgod

      that’s nothing

      I invented the idea of intellectual property

  25. Benjamin Grislic

      I was inventing years before the apostrophe.

  26. Anonymous

      Umm, resealable hot dog technology is NOT new and certainly doesn’t warrant an impromptu conversation about exclamation points.  In other news, can’t believe the news about the Hideki Irabu Suicide news.  I feel like Hideki Irabu Suicide would be a marginally cool punk rock band name in ~2-3 years, and a pretty awesome [genre that hasn’t been invented yet] band name in circa 2015-2020. Circa!