On Totally True Facts Tuesday, this incredible waste of time and resources!
My friends, I proudly present the Intentionally Blank Page!
I opened my most recent bank statement and came upon this page. It’s not a stranger to me, as I’ve seen it on bank statements, bills, and those Explanation of Benefits documents I get from my health insurance company (along with about three pages front and back of certain instructions printed in about twenty different languages).
I’ve never understood why this was a thing, and why anyone would waste time printing this very obvious information on a very blank side of the document. And it isn’t really something I’ve ever given much thought to…until now. Why now, I have no idea.
But there is an explanation for it. And dear Lord, Wikipedia has it.
Here’s the short of it:
Intentionally blank pages are usually the result of printing conventions and techniques.
Such pages may serve purposes ranging from place-holding to space-filling and content separation. Sometimes, these pages carry a notice such as “This page [is] intentionally left blank.” Such notices typically appear in printed works, such as legal documents, manuals, and exam papers, in which the reader might otherwise suspect that the blank pages are due to a printing error and where missing pages might have serious consequences.
Of course, Wikipedia has a much longer explanation, but I got my answer. If you’re still mind blown, check out this not unintentionally left blank page.