# "Property of US Government" **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 17, 2020, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/property-of-us-government/920852 "2020-09-17T16:54:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Turek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/turek/32/18782_2.png) [@Turek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Turek)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2020, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/property-of-us-government/920852/1 "2020-09-17T16:54:34Z")
The other day I ordered a 2.5 gallon water container from REI’s website for use when I go on photo trips. When I received the box and opened it and looked at my new acquisition, well… there on the side, molded into the plastic, in the middle of the side, away from everything else on the side, in capital letters, read the following words: “Property of US Government” (My apologies to Alice. You remember Alice?) I want to tell you about Big Bend National Park. I frequently go to Big Bend National Park. It’s way in the middle of nowhere, and it’s a great place to do night photography. But, you can’t leave Big Bend National Park without going through a Border Patrol control station. Is some well-meaning but over-zealous Border Patrol agent going to decide he needs to see the stuff inside my car, take one look at the tan water container labeled “Property of US Government”, assume I stole it, and decide it’s time I spent some time on the Group W bench? ---
**Author:** ![Gray\_Ghost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c0e974/32.png) [@Gray\_Ghost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gray_Ghost)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2020, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/property-of-us-government/920852/2 "2020-09-17T17:32:35Z")
I’ve gone through checkpoints like you describe in Texas, though not that particular one. Everytime, they’ve simply asked where I was going, and waved me through. Likely, that’ll be what will happen with you. If you’re worried about it, maybe keep a copy of the receipt from REI? And email REI asking them what’s going on? ---
**Author:** ![mikecurtis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mikecurtis/32/3284_2.png) [@mikecurtis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mikecurtis)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2020, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/property-of-us-government/920852/3 "2020-09-17T18:16:54Z")
Just don’t go at Thanksgiving, and you should be fine! ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2020, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/property-of-us-government/920852/4 "2020-09-17T18:26:20Z")
And don’t litter in Big Bend National Park either, but if you do, be sure you don’t accidentally leave behind an envelope with your name on it. ETA: And yeah, sounds to me like REI may have sent you the wrong thing. Y’oughta return it and demand a different one. ---
**Author:** ![Keeve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f07891/32.png) [@Keeve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Keeve)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2020, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/property-of-us-government/920852/5 "2020-09-17T18:32:56Z")
I suggest contacting REI, and asking them why they sold you stolen goods. Possibly relevant story: I remember once upon a time, when all mailboxes (like you would buy at Home Depot and install on your home) were labeled, “Property of US Post Office”. I heard that this technicality is what made it illegal for other entities to put stuff (advertising or whatever) into any mailbox, and it had to be put somewhere else. Maybe there’s something similar with the water bottle. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2020, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/property-of-us-government/920852/6 "2020-09-17T18:41:52Z")
The GSA routinely sells off surplus property, to pretty much anyone who wants it and can pay for it. There is nothing illegal at all about possessing something labeled as such. ---
**Author:** ![BippityBoppityBoo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bippityboppityboo/32/5745_2.png) [@BippityBoppityBoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BippityBoppityBoo)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2020, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/property-of-us-government/920852/7 "2020-09-17T22:40:39Z")
> [@Turek](#): > > My apologies to Alice. You remember Alice?) I don’t want a pickle, I just wanna ride on my motorsickle. I remember Alice well. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2020, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/property-of-us-government/920852/8 "2020-09-18T01:19:25Z")
> [@BippityBoppityBoo](#): > > I don’t want a pickle, I just wanna ride on my motorsickle. I remember Alice well.- I had to get used to not living next door to Alice. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2020, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/property-of-us-government/920852/9 "2020-09-18T02:08:51Z")
> [@Turek](#): > > Is some well-meaning but over-zealous Border Patrol agent going to decide he needs to see the stuff inside my car, take one look at the tan water container labeled “Property of US Government”, assume I stole it, and decide it’s time I spent some time on the Group W bench? Kid, have you rehabilitated yourself? ---
**Author:** ![Banksiaman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banksiaman/32/3334_2.png) [@Banksiaman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banksiaman)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2020, 6:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/property-of-us-government/920852/10 "2020-09-18T06:25:00Z")
What is the normal practice with army surplus? Is the expectation that the Govt ownership mark gets voided in a non-reversible way or some other cancellation get applied? ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2020, 11:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/property-of-us-government/920852/11 "2020-09-18T11:50:00Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > > [@BippityBoppityBoo](#): > > > > I don’t want a pickle, I just wanna ride on my motorsickle. I remember Alice well.- > > I had to get used to not living next door to Alice Alice? Who the fuck is Alice? ---
**Author:** ![Turek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/turek/32/18782_2.png) [@Turek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Turek)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2020, 12:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/property-of-us-government/920852/12 "2020-09-18T12:13:26Z")
Thanks to those who got the “joke”. It may very well be government surplus. This particular item is manufactured for the government by the same company who made this one. However, it wasn’t marketed as such, and none of the pictures on the REI website show the markings on it. Interestingly enough, it’s no longer available for sale on the REI site. When I call their customer support number, the the only reply from the woman on the other end of the line was “I don’t know” in a very dismissive tone of voice. In general, it stood out to me because this is the worst (i.e. the only negative) buying experience I’ve ever had with REI. I’ve been through the Border Patrol station outside of Big Bend many times. They’ve never done more than ask me where I’d been, where I was going, and casually looked through the car windows. So I don’t expect a full-on “take everything out of your vehicle” kind of inspection, but you never know. I’m still trying to decide if it’s worth returning it and trying to find the container without the print from another vendor. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2020, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/property-of-us-government/920852/13 "2020-09-18T17:49:51Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > Alice? Who the fuck is Alice? Keed, we don’t like your kind 'round here. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2020, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/property-of-us-government/920852/14 "2020-09-18T17:50:14Z")
I really wouldn’t worry about it. There are thousands if not millions of government surplus items circulating out there marked “Property of U.S. Govt.” Nobody really cares unless it’s something valuable or important, which this isn’t. If you’re paranoid, carry the receipt. Otherwise don’t sweat it. ---
**Author:** ![gdave](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gdave/32/3683_2.png) [@gdave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gdave)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2020, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/property-of-us-government/920852/15 "2020-09-18T18:03:43Z")
I’ve never seen those kinds of markings voided. In many cases, like OP’s, it’s actually molded into the item. I don’t know how you’d physically “void” that kind of marking. ---
**Author:** ![BippityBoppityBoo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bippityboppityboo/32/5745_2.png) [@BippityBoppityBoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BippityBoppityBoo)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2020, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/property-of-us-government/920852/16 "2020-09-18T18:07:58Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > Alice? Who the > [@kayaker](#): > > is Alice? My Alice is Arlo Guthrie’s from “Alice’s Restaurant”. c .1967. I attributed the pickle/motor sickle to the wrong song of Arlo’s, but he wouldn’t mind, as long as I remembered it was his. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2020, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/property-of-us-government/920852/17 "2020-09-18T18:25:37Z")
I read the memoir of one of the guys involved in the Manhattan project. When he and his arrived at Los Alamos the housing and everything in it was furnished by the Army – there was no way their household goods would be moved there. After about a week his wife complained why they couldn’t have anything new. Puzzled, he checked. Sure enough, _everything_ in the place – the back of the furniture, the sheets, even the broom handle was stamped USED, so he checked. Turned out it stood for United States Engineering Department. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2020, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/property-of-us-government/920852/18 "2020-09-18T18:26:57Z")
Right, and so does the Military. Army Surplus, remember? ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2020, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/property-of-us-government/920852/19 "2020-09-18T18:28:12Z")
You have to take the _City of New Orleans_ train to get to her. ---
**Author:** ![BippityBoppityBoo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bippityboppityboo/32/5745_2.png) [@BippityBoppityBoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BippityBoppityBoo)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2020, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/property-of-us-government/920852/20 "2020-09-18T18:42:51Z")
Singing ‘Hobo’s Lullaby’ as you ride ‘the City of New Orleans’. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/property-of-us-government/920852.md?page=2)