That picture is definitely FTW. Been a long time since I actually LOLed

What makes the photo especially gag-worthy is that maybe the little kid didn't know any better, but the adult taking the photo happily snapped away.

@PersonalBest: I'm hoping the adult didn't realize the kid was going to lick the pig until it was too late.

Parents....stupid stupid parents.

They more than likely told the child to kiss the pig for the sake of a good picture.

I have the perfect picture of my dog and my friend's kid if there's an outbreak of Chihuahua flu.

@Rectilinear Propagation: You, sir, are more of an optimist than I.

That picture is awesome.

I don't see a problem with a company selling something by honestly pointing out that their product can help a business keep running normally if there is a flu outbreak and people need to work from home and avoid gathering in groups. There may be a very real need for this kind of thing and they are pointing that out. They may be pointing it out a little early, but they're not being dishonest.

They're not creating a need that didn't exist before and then filling it. For example selling people on the idea that their houses need to be germ free and selling them a ridiculous number of expensive cleaning agents.

They're not selling them something that doesn't work.

They're not exaggerating the benefits/drawbacks of using/not using their product - they're not saying that using the product will keep their employees safe from the flu or that not using it will kill them.

They're also not making up words (my advertising pet peeve), like claiming a new skin cream has "smoothening agents" or that a snack has "crunchability."

@bishophicks: Or new special yogurt cultures. Now with bifiduspoopsalotis!

Companies should have been more proactive about telecommuting options, even if just for a fall back plan for situations like this. It was pointed out on the morning news that a bigger problem was schools closing and parents not having anywhere to keep kids during work hours leading to lost productivity and lost income. Schools could have planned better by having more online classroom options set up so kids can do at least some of their work from home.

Words cannot express how much I dislike pigs. I love bacon, but I just don't think piglets are cute, and their grown counterparts aren't either.

That said... you in the black jacket and blue shirt I spotted on the Metro stuffing your used and nasty snot tissues into the back of the seat, I saw you. You better hope you don't have the swine flu. If you do, there will be a manhunt.

@bishophicks:

"There has been alot of concern over the global disaster inflicted by the swine flu."

I'd call that some exaggeration.

And the fact that they sent out that email strongly implies that "using the product will keep people safe from the flu."

@PersonalBest: Do any of you actually have kids?

Nothing will desensitize you to a little bit of mud and pig snot quicker than having a kid. They get in to everything and you quickly just become glad they're not doing anything potentially fatal.

@bohemian: The schools back in my hometown can't afford it. That county is so broke it's not even funny. The schools were overcrowded the entire time I was in grade school and they still are.

@pecan 3.14159265: What about that terrific Wilbur(and I mean the book version, not the one from the movie with ::shudders:: Dakota Fanning)?

Or Babe?

Pecan-ewe
Pecan-ewe
To your followers be true
Pecan-ewe!

You know how else you can avoid swince flu? Never leave your house. Don't talk to anyone. Keep your lights off, do not answer the doorbell or the telephone. Shower at least ten times a day. Wear a surgical mask at all times. Wear rubber gloves. Don't touch anything, even with the rubber gloves. If you have a family, kill them all, then burn the bodies in the furnace, if you're lucky enough to have one. Otherwise, bury them in the backyard, but only after donning a radiation suit and a gas-mask to avoid exposure. Then come back inside and bathe yourself in a mixture of bleach and Comet. After some time has passed, venture back out into the world and seek one of the last uninfected humans to procreate with, thus guaranteeing the survival of the species.

You shall prevail.

Mexico @pecan 3.14159265: The average pig is as smart as a 3 year old child. They are also very clean animals, but can't sweat which is why they roll around in the mud, to keep cool. They only "wallow in their own waste" because they're forced to by their handlers, given the space they wouldn't.

They are horribly mistreated by pork producers, being kept in cages where they can't move, are constantly prodded and beaten.

@Wants A CU Labcoat_GitEmSteveDave: I actually liked Charlotte's Web, but that was because it was a book and I didn't have to see a pig talk. And I read it when I was kid, before the aversion to pigs began.

@snowburnt: Thanks for the documentary lesson! It's not the dirtiness that bothers me...I just don't think they're cute, adorable creatures. I think it's the snouts...and that they're not fuzzy.

That's it! I'm moving to Solaria.

That kid really loves bacon.

@snowburnt: Yeah, it's the whole being kept in cages for ever and ever around their own filth that causes things like H1N1 to blow up in the first place.

And now, in deference to the pork producers, my pathetic home state has stopped referring to H1N1 as Swine Flu.
[www.newsnetnebraska.org]

I LOL'ed quite hard at that pic.

Wear a surgical mask at all times.

@Tightlines: That doesn't actually help much if you're trying not to catch it. If you're trying not to spread disease have at it but it's a waste if you're healthy.

@PersonalBest: LMAO. I'm sorry, but kids get into far worse.

@CaptZ: The parents aren't stupid.

@WiglyWorm: @nakedscience: No, no kids. But I'm looking forward to seeing what could be far worse than this. And as always, invite graphic stories to prove me wrong.

My company actually does have a satellite office in Mexico City, so they had to send out a company-wide e-mail clamping down on travel and encouraging us all to use our digital alternatives.

Then again, I think the Mexico City office has about six people in it (the largest of several US offices has about 1200) so I doubt many folks were on their way there anyway.

@snowburnt: That is NOT true. I've raised pigs. Yes, I was a 4-H'er during my formative years. Despite HUGE pens (roughly 40' x 40') for two pigs, they still shat in their food trough, pissed where they slept, and would eat ANYTHING that somehow made its way into the pen. Yeah, a three-year-old might stick random off-the-floor objects in his/her mouth, but I can't let you claim pigs are either clean OR as smart as young children.

@CaptZ: And? Look at it! It was worth it.

@Ayarkay: THAT was FTW. Nice one.

@PersonalBest: Except for the current swine flu (correction: 2009 H1N1 Flu) issue, pigs are extrememly clean and a kid licking a pig would be more likely to infect the pig than the kid. So assuming the pic was snapped before H1N1, the parents were probably not being stupid.

@Rectilinear Propagation: Out of all Tightlines' suggestions, you comment on the non-funny one. Granted, though, you are correct.

So...is this a bad time to market my line of condoms made from bacon?

That picture is amazing.

I am waiting for the telepresence companies to start promoting their products as well. If I have to mention any names, then you aren't watching enough tv shows where they have taken product placement to a new high.

Nice fear mongering in the statement. Using "disaster" boarders on irresponsible.

Maybe companies will realize that they can save money too...

@PersonalBest: Hm, let's see:

My brother (now 27) drank lighter fluid when he was 2. Dad was busy with an arm full or burgers going on the grill.

I touched my tongue to a plugged-up power cord (y'know - kind that plugs into the wall and then into the radio).

My cousin ate a cockroach.

The key thing to remember is that this E-mail was sent to their SUBSCRIBERS, people who have already shown interest in the product. The other thing to remember is that Mikogo is free, so they are not really selling anything, they are simply using the flu outbreak to try to gain exposure in a legitamate way.

This photo was being sent around at my job several days ago. I have kids, and I know they do nasty stuff, but eeewwww!
Also, my company has worldwide business units and is encouraging interweb conferencing.
Some of the school districts nearby have closed til at least May 11. And they're encouraging parents not to take their kids to daycare centers. My kids are grown, but I feel for the people who have young kids that need supervision but cannot afford to take time off from work.

I thought you were supposed to put the lipstick on the pig first...

But seriously, I don't find it distasteful for the company to promote its services in conjunction with the outbreak. Corporate teleconferencing is such a better alternative in terms of cutting corporate bloat and environmental friendliness.

@PersonalBest: My daughter is only 1, so she hasn't gotten in to too much. Licking shoes and eating leaves/loose dog fur, giving open mouth kisses to the dogs. I do stop her from licking my shoes because I work at a hospital. Anyone elses shoes (or my non dress shoes), whatever (the wife doesn't like it because she's OCD with a fear of spiders and is worried that someone may have stepped on a spider and then our daughter might lick it).

The worst she's done so far is, during a dirty diaper change stick her hand "down there" and immediately try to put it in her mouth... I did definitely stop her from doing that. Mostly because I didn't want to clean up vomit (hers and mine) moreso than any concern for her health.

@humphrmi: Well, since pigs don't carry H1N1, then the parents were not being stupid at all.

@PersonalBest: "far worse than this" ... hyperbole much? Pigs aren't dirty animals. That's a myth.

I bet the guys who invented bacon salt are seeing a slowdown.

@pecan 3.14159265: So you're that kid in second-grade class who quietly muttered, "Fail Charlotte, FAIL!" :P

@Ayarkay: Or just if they rename it from Swine Flu to Mexico Flu.

Geez, kid, show some initiative: slip her some tongue!
Oops, spoke too soon!

@nakedscience: Huh? Are you sure about that?
[en.wikipedia.org]

@nakedscience: I wouldn't be as worried about the kid getting swine flu as I would about him getting something like this.