The government gets a lot of flack these days, so it’s always nice to highlight a federal employee who’s doing great things for a change. And today, that person is Joseph Galbo, the social media specialist who runs the Twitter account for the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. The commission’s purpose is “protecting consumers and families from products that pose a fire, electrical, chemical, or mechanical hazard,” which sounds very important and very dull. That’s why Galbo’s surreal, meme-like images are so unexpected, and popular.

This is the most popular Twitter post from the USCPSC, in response to the Tide Pod Challenge from a couple months ago:

That Tweet might have a reasonable message, but it’s pretty straightforward compared with Galbo’s typical work, like this post featuring a creature called Safety Whale:

(Pretty sure Detroit is located on a freshwater lake, which isn’t very safe for our new friend Safety Whale, but we’ll give them a pass this time.)

Galbo realizes that many of his images appear to be rushed and amateurish, and that’s the point. “A lot of people assume that it’s an intern or someone’s dad trying to do memes,” he told Chron.com “Very rarely do people think it’s someone who knows what they are doing. That’s part of the charm.”

The idea is, with so much online content, you have to do find a way to stand out. And something must be working, because the commission’s Twitter following has grown 37% since Galbo took over in 2016.

Below, you can check out a sampling of Galbo’s work. Not only will you have a chuckle, you might even learn some useful safety tips.

1. The dark side of pie.

2. Cleaning products have identity issues, too.

3. The next thing in baby furniture: zero gravity.

4. An (updated) Irish Blessing

5. I think we know why the electric bill is so high.

6.  The USCPSC tests consumer products and LSD, apparently.

7. What do sleeping babies have to do with unicorns? Nothing…until now.

8.  The USCPSC even has a mascot, Barks McWoofins

9. Non sequitur, anyone?

10. Knowledge might be power, but he prefers a fireball spell.

 

 

h/t: Splinter and The Houston Chronicle