Recently, I’ve noticed this sentence written on a number of desks in various buildings around campus. In one room I was in yesturday, it was written on at least a quarter of the desks.
Nobody I’ve asked has been able to tell me what the significance of this sentence is. Can any Dopers enlighten me?
I Googled it, but only found this (less than informative) site.
OK, you got me curious.
I’ve never seen anyone smoke a Pall Mall before.
Maybe it is a witticism in reference to the Pall Mall motto?
Printed on every Pall Mall package is this Motto: In Hoc Signo Vinces - "Wherever Particular People Congregate"
It was an entry on Postsecret:
http://postsecret.blogspot.com
I googled “I only smoke Pall Mall” and traced back from there. So maybe the person who posted it on Postsecret… goes to your school.
Wild, uneducated guess:
the writer thinks of the person every time he/she takes a cigarette, and is a two-pack-a-day smoker. (Are there 20 cigs in a pack?)
The writer smokes Pall Malls because they remind him/her of thye other person (Their initials are P.M., or he’s named Paull or something).
As for why that phrase gets repeated, who knows? In-joke? Shows up in favorite Book/Movie/Video Game? It’s some kind of mnemonic? Sneaky advertising for Liggett and Myers?
No, it’s from PostSecret…which is a fantastic book/collection, one of my favorite art books I own.
Even if you don’t have any interest in buying it, at least check it out at Borders. Very interesting concept, with some hilarious, some thought-provoking, and some absolutely heart-wrenching stuff.
-foxy
I thought of that. The building in which I’ve seen it the most is used mainly for math classes. Is there some mathematical procedure for which you can abbreviate IOSPMCSICRY40TAD? Acronym finder’s got nothing.
To clarify, the Latin portion of the slogan translates to “by this sign, you will conquer” (as I’ve often heard) or "in this sign… " (as this page says). Such writers as Kurt Vonnegut, Charles Bukowski, and Stephen King frequently refer to the brand in their works.
Perhaps the sucking on the cigarettes reminds the mystery graffitist of the taste and/or sensation of a certain sexual act…
Remind me to never, ever buy Pall Mall…
Also, remind me never to let my wife try them. I’m not taking any chances.
That postsecret site is fun! ( Too bad my life is way too boring to warrant any postings there.)
IIRC, I only smoke pall mall is either an obscure advertising slogan or some really old movie line. I keep getting either a Jack Palance or a Clint Eastwood picture in my mind saying this line.
Dale Robertson, played agent Jim Hardy in Tales of Wells Fargo back in the 1950’s. He did ads for Pall Mall.
“My name’s Jim Hardy, and I smoke Pall Mall.” done in a cowboy accent, dressed like his cowboy character. Very big at the time. One of the more memorable commercials from the '50’s.
My dad used to smoke Pall Malls. I once asked him if he smoked them because they were the best…he told me that they were. I tried one, and immediately got sick. Never picked up a cigaratte since.
You need to switch to Old Golds, there’s not a cough in a carload.
This phrase, of course, appeared to Constantine along with the cross before he won at Milvian Bridge. The other phrase on the logo is “Per Aspera Ad Astra.”
Most of the Pall Malls I’ve sold in the past were the old unfiltered type, although young smokers preferred the newer filtered ones. Neither were nearly as popular as most any type of Marlboro.