As an author, I love words and the images they conjure. A while back, I spent some time replacing old light bulbs with the new energy-saving fluorescent type. They look really cool.

You know how a light bulb turns on above a cartoon character when he gets a bright idea? These bulbs made me think of that. Wouldn’t it be funny if new cartoons used these bulbs instead, indicating a different kind of idea, maybe an energy-saving idea?

Then I thought about the fact that fluorescent lights are a problem for some people. Sometimes the flickering or the noise can cause headaches, and the type of light can lead to other illnesses, so some people don’t like them at all.

And that led me to this “bright idea.” I’m inventing a new term. When you have a great idea, but it’s likely to bother some people, call it a “fluorescent idea.” For example, if you decide to paint your house pink or erect a twenty-foot statue of Jar Jar Binks in your front yard, that would be a fluorescent idea, because it’s likely to annoy the neighbors. If you decide to save money by wearing the same pair of socks every day for two months, that would be a fluorescent idea.

So here’s what I’m asking you to do. Please use this phrase whenever you can. If someone has an idea that you think is annoying, tell them out loud that it’s a fluorescent idea. Use it in your writing. Use it in emails and chat rooms, explaining the meaning to those who don’t understand. Let’s make it part of our generation’s lingo.

If you have an example of a fluorescent idea, tell me about it in a comment.

I know. Some people will think the idea to do this is fluorescent, but that’s okay. It will help to spread the word about this great new term.

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Categories: Miscellaneous

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