This post intentionally left blank

Have you ever been leafing through some kind of notebook or instruction manual only to come across the words, "this page intentionally left blank?" If the page was meant to be blank, then why would anyone NOT leave it blank by telling us that it was SUPPOSED to be blank. Of course, once they put that on there, it's not blank anymore. Does that mean the page was UNintentionally typed on?

"This page unintentionally not left blank"

Of course, that wouldn't be right either because if someone put that on the page, then they MUST have done so intentionally! Now we're back to the original problem. Perhaps the pages should read something like, "This page has nothing worth reading on it."

But then why bother to put that? hat's like those t-shirts you see that say, "Don't Read This!" Well, crap, it's too late! I already read it before I knew not to read it.

And here's another thing about those pages: had the people just left the page blank, maybe the reader could have used the page to make some notes. Now, he or she can't because "this page intentionally left blank" is usually printed dead-smack in the middle of the page! Again, what whiz-bang came up with that one!?

Now, some people ask why they bothered to put the page in there at all. That has to do with the way the book was bound, usually. The "blank" page is usually the other half of another page in the book.

maybe the message isn't for the reader after all. Like the "do not remove under penalty of law" tags aren't meant for the consumer, perhaps the "blank" message is actually for the printing company. That way, they know there was not a mistake in the master document. Oh sure, I could be Googling this and discover the answer for myself, but why? Where is the fun and rambling in that?

For whatever reason it's printed, I just wanted you to know that I intentionally left this post blank. Don't read this. There's nothing worthwhile here.