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Most people haven't yet gotten all the gifts they plan to give this year and will likely find themselves wandering down the aisles of stores looking for items to purchase for the loved ones in their life. Typically, a trip to the store is uneventful, but one announcement over the loudspeaker can change that in an instant. If over the store's intercom, you hear a call for an employee to help at busy registers or to clean up a mess, it's no big deal, but if you hear an announcement for a "Code Brown," you better abandon your cart and exit the store immediately.
It turns out that on rare occasions, announcements are made using secret codes that only employees understand, but some of those workers have revealed what the codes mean. According to a thread on Quora, there are quite a few of them and one Walmart associate shared the codes they are aware of, starting with a "Code Brown," which is used when there has been a violent act at the store. The "Code Brown" will likely followed by instructions, however, unless it is unsafe to leave, it might be in your best interest to just get out and get some distance.
Brown isn't the only color code you might hear, but no matter the color, chances are you'll still want to leave. A "Code Orange" signifies a chemical spill, a "Code Red" is a fire, a "Code Blue" is a bomb threat," "Code White" is an accident of some kind in the store and a "Code Green" is an active hostage situation. The only code when you probably shouldn't leave is a "Code Black," which indicates severe weather outside.
Not all codes are named after colors either. "Code Adam" alerts associates that a child in the store is missing. It is named after six-year-old Adam Walsh, who was abducted from a Florida Sears in 1981. A "Code 300" or "99," followed by a location, is a request for security in that area.
Keep in mind though, there are also codes that don't reflect any danger and are just easier ways for employees to communicate. "Code Spark" means more cashiers are needed up front, "Code 10" is a wet spill," "Code 20" is a dry spill, "Code 50" means shopping carts need to be gathered from the parking lot, "Code 1" is for a shoplifter and "Code C" just means a customer needs assistance.
The most important thing to remember is that if you do hear a coded announcement, never panic since that won't help anyone.