Did they really have to specify that you should use CLEAN cat litter to combat ice?
Please note: This article is published as an archive copy from Philadelphia City Paper. My City Paper is not affiliated with Philadelphia City Paper. Philadelphia City Paper was an alternative weekly newspaper in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The last edition was published on October 8, 2015.
Gross, West Philly! GROSS!
Janet McKnight via Flickr Creative Commons
The last few weeks of shitty weather have been the cause of lots of public shaming by the city, from outing negligent shovelers to the Philly Police's #nosavesies campaign. But now it might be time for some shaming right back: There were apparently some truly gross misunderstandings of a suggestion in the "Snow Emergency Tips" section of the Streets Department's website to use cat litter to "generate temporary traction" on icy sidewalks instead of rock salt.
Obviously, they meant clean kitty litter. But because they didn't specify, and because this is Philly, some people took the tip extremely litter-ally (GET IT?) have been dumping soiled kitty litter all over city sidewalks. Reddit user Meemorp issued his (or her) very own PSA. While that user specifically called out West Philly, others noted that they've seen it in other neighborhoods, too.
Maybe everyone should stop laughing at Jim Kenney and his beet-juice suggestions. At least misunderstandings there would just be kind of sticky.
