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Friday, August 11, 2006


I found out a new and highly entertaining use for the "panic button" on my keys.



As you can see, my car locks not with the actual key but with this button-type fob. If I accidentally hit the thin, red button with "Panic" written on it (as I often somehow manage to do) then my car will begin loundly and repeatedly honking until I turn it off by hitting any other button on the fob.

I always understoof this to be for if I was walking back to my car at night and some ne'er do well creeped me out then I could hit the panic button to 1) startle the bejesus out of him and 2) call attention to the situation.

But there is actually a second, equally as useful purpose to that thin red button.
Yesterday, after a dastardly ride home (see below), I stopped by my favorite local Thai place to order some takeout since I was in no mood to cook anything for myself. I parked at the pizza shop next door (even though it says explicitely NOT to) because there was no street parking. So I suppose then I shouldn't complain that when I left the restaurant with my pad thai, a mere 10 minutes after going in, there were assorted 16 year old punks hanging out around my car. One of them actually had his HAND on the trunk. Another was leaning on the passenger side door.

I was like "NO HE DIDN'T!". I don't know why I would care about a random person touching my car, but it bothers me immensely. He might as well have his hand on MY trunk if you know what I mean. I prepared to huff into their midst and shoot them all evil looks, and probably get knifed or something in the process, when the best thing ever happened.

I accidently hit the panic button instead of the unlock button.

And as my car started up it's HONK! HONK! HONK! HONK! those little punks scattered like white trash pigeons.

One of them actually shrieked. It was magnificent.

With a self-satisfied smirk, I ambled over to my car and got in, careful to make sure they all took note of me laughing at my own good fortune.

So there you have it. The panic button is both a safety tool, and a punk-scattering device.

Makes me love my Honda even more!

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

Beautiful! PJ and I always use his "panic" button to find the car in a massive parking lot. A la - the parking garage/lot at Universal Studios. I always thought that what it's for. You're "panic"ing because you can't find your damn car! Glad to know there's more than one use. By the way, someone touching my car in a familiar way would piss me off too!

Sarah said...

i think the button/key technology is pretty new in the US too. i know i wish i had it on the cars i used to drivebecause it makes it impossible to lock your keys in your car, something i used to do ALL the time!!

Lys said...

I lost my car in the Universal Studios lot 2 weeks ago - I swore I parked in the "Cat In The Hat" section and my friend swore it was "E.T." - 5 floors and when I would hit the panic button to hear my poor little Cougar send off it's homing "HONK" other cars would have the nerve to go off as well - 30 minutes later - the car was located, in the "E.T." lot - Never again!

Thank god someone invented that button! Glad to know there are other uses for it as well....

Sarah said...

see, my car honks once when i click the lock button so usually when i can't find the car i just do that a few times. the panic button is SO loud that i feel like an a-hole if i usually click it. then again i have never had to park in a ginourmous lot like at US. i'm sure that would make me get over my reluctance REALLY quickly. :-)

Jeannie said...

the term "punk-scattering device" make me LOL. ;-)

~JC

Lee said...

1st time I accidentally hit that button, I wasn't aware I had that particular option(not big into reading my car manual). So as I'm getting closer to my car in the parking lot, I'm saying loudly to my friend, "Oh God, some jerk's car alarm is going off. What an idiot! So annoying!" Imagine my chagrine.

To Be Announced said...

I have used my panic button for the exact same purpose! We love our civics!!

SLC said...

LOL!!
I have used mine to find my car in a parking lot when I forgot where I parked, but I LOVE your new "ah-ha" use.
It would have been awesome to catch that on video.

Anonymous said...

OMG, completely unrelated to your post, but I saw a woman wearing formal shorts (veeeeery short shorts) in Kyoto this wkend. Now typically Japanese tend to scoff at American fads, while proliferating their own weapons of taste destruction, but apparently not so with formal shorts. Egad.

MarisaJosephine said...

are you talking about
LITTLE DUCK?
that place is awesome!
\
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Marisa:)