Is It On or Off?

You may be one of those who happens to have on your vehicle's dashboard the interesting configuration shown in the image on the right. If you are, this blog entry is a public service to you explaining how to use it.

1. If you want the airbag to be on and the off light is on, insert your ignition key into the slot and turn left to the on position. The off light will go off.
2. If you want the airbag to be on and off is off, do nothing. The airbag is already on.
3. If you want the airbag off and off is on, do nothing. The airbag is already off.
4. If you want the airbag to be off and off is off, insert your ignition key into the slot and turn it from on to off. Off will come on indicating that the airbag is off.

See? It's simple. When off is on then the airbag is off. You have to turn it on to make the off go off. When the off is off, then the airbag is on. You have to turn it off to make the off go on.

I thought this mechanism was so clever, it inspired me to do a little steampunk graphic using a tool called Gimp. (Here, let me Google that for you: gimp.)

Here's the image:

Notice that the off is on, indicating something is off. What odd mechanisms have you seen?