Editing 1533: Antique Factory

{{comic
| number    = 1533
| date      = June 3, 2015
| title     = Antique Factory
| image     = antique_factory.png
| titletext = WARNING: This item was aged by the same inexorable passage of time that also processes nuts.
}}

==Explanation==
[[Beret Guy]] has a new job with a paradoxical premise. When asked where he works, he says "{{w|Antique}} factory!" which is an {{Wiktionary|oxymoron}} since one cannot build an antique object directly in a factory: Only when the item is old enough to be worth more than its original price (and will often have to have been in use during this time period), can it be called an antique. Alternatively, he could simply be referring to the factory as "antique“ which may be correct.

At the "factory", Beret Guy walks up to a chair, a table, and a small cabinet, then simply sits down in the chair and does nothing else. Of course, one does not simply make or manufacture antiques - instead, one must wait. Beret Guy appears to be doing exactly this. The implication is that the "antique factory" is simply a place where furniture is stored until it becomes old enough to be considered "antique", and that Beret Guy doesn't perform any useful function (except perhaps using the items to make them look old and worn, or keeping an eye on the inventory so it won't be stolen).

The title text refers to allergy warning labels saying ''May contain nuts''. More specifically, they may say "Manufactured in a facility which also processes nuts", "Manufactured on equipment that also processes nuts", or similar. These warnings indicate that bits of powder and oil from nuts may have been mixed into the product, creating a hazard to people with nut allergies. Sometimes these warnings are used for allergens besides nuts, but nuts are likely the most common.

The joke here is that of course the time that has passed for a specific item to become an antique will be the same time that has also passed while elsewhere nuts have grown. Thus the time that has {{Wiktionary|inexorable#Adjective|inexorably}} passed to make a specific item antique will also have processed nuts.

Beret Guy has previously "traveled" into the future in [[209: Kayak]]. He has also previously waited for a long amount of time in [[1088: Five Years]] and in [[1617: Time Capsule]].

==Transcript==
:[Beret Guy is leaving with a briefcase in hand.]
:Beret Guy: Gotta go - I'm late for work.
:Off-screen voice: Oh, where are you working now?
:Beret Guy: Antique factory!

:[Beret Guy arrives and pulls out a chair in front of a table and a small cabinet.]

:[Beret Guy sits on the chair in front of the table. He has placed the briefcase behind the chair.]

:[An almost identical panel is repeated once more.]

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Beret Guy]]
[[Category:Beret Guy's Business]]