I purchased a useful accessory for my new favorite piece of camping equipment, my Disc-O-Bed Cam-O-Bunk XL bunk bed cots.

Read more about how the Cam-O-Bunk makes camping comfortable again for a camper with arthritis.

In spite of my familiarity with the product and my thorough knowledge of their intended use, the pedant in me read the label on the box and shouted:

“Oh no! We’ve got footpads in our midst!”

Merriam Webster clarifies my little joke, though also proves that clever Disc-O-Bed carefully spelled their product’s name “foot pad” instead of “footpad.”

I’d say the second definition would allow for the former in all correctness.

While I’m unlikely to have the opportunity to take my Cam-O-Bunk XL as far afield as outer space, the purpose of its foot pads is precisely that of NASA’s footpads. Neither of which poses too much risk to passing pedestrians.