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“This is spray painted by my home in Layton, UT, on a small retainer wall next to the road. Behind ‘Live and Let Live,’ it says ‘Live in the now.’ I think both are good advice for anyone. It makes me happy!” Thanks, Zerra! (By the way, it occurs to me we’ve got a lot of flossers in Utah! Must be an intellectual state.)
Unusual Houses
Reader Lorena lives near this colorful house in Eugene, Oregon. Damn hippies!
This house outside Philadelphia was voted Most Likely to Give Children Nightmares by the local neighborhood association. (We especially love the happy plastic deer in the foreground. Shudder …) Thanks, Pete!
This worn-out mailbox comes with instructions, so you’ll be sure to get your mail no matter how stupid your mailperson is. Pic courtesy Adam in Echo Park, LA, CA. (We love you too, Adam!)
The Saddest Christmas Tree (Both of Them)
Kellie writes: “Every year my neighbor trims her Christmas tree and then takes one of the branches she cut off and puts it in my yard – with one decoration. Therefore, I have my very own Charlie Brown Christmas tree every year. I would take it down as it’s almost February, but when she plants it in my yard, she “waters” it … freezing it to the bottom of the snow bank. I should also note that I live in Duluth, MN, where it’s winter 9 months out of the year, so by the time I am able to take it down, it’ll be time for her to put a new one up!”
Kath Oltsher in Edmonton, Alberta “found this tree caught by security bars against the window in an underused building. There it was, off an alley, to the side of an empty lot, in an area that could be called the “inner city,” where the poorest live and where many of the people that used to be in mental health facilities were “mainstreamed into society” ended up. Who hung the Christmas balls, tinsel and ribbon on it?” (Some poor, mentally ill Charlie Brown, we’d imagine.)
Unsettling Juxtapositions in the Workplace
Adrienne writes: “I work as an R&D supervisor in a cosmetics manufacturing plant in southwest Oklahoma. The factory is your typical industrial warehouse-type operation. In an effort to boost employee morale, upper management decided to put out a box where we could place suggestions for fun and great ideas like “have holidays off with pay,” or “how about a raise, that sounds fun.” Occasionally there are a few good ideas, but the suggestions, in general, are sarcastic and a little depressing. I included pictures of the Fun Suggestion Box as well as the factory. It is sadly out of place.”
From reader Karen: “I work in the Chattanooga State Office Building (in TN), which is a very ugly government building. We have a fountain in the side lobby. Sometime last year, a lone rubber ducky appeared in that fountain. Then friends started to show up. Soon we had a whole flock of ducks. (Plus one blue whale.) Every so often, some will go missing, and a ransom note will get posted to the wall, usually demanding chocolate or coffee. We all like the ducks a lot.”
And Finally … Unclassifiable, from Liza!
“Though perhaps not as random as the example in the assignment, these
bank time/temp signs are the figurative “pants” I pass on my daily
walk to work in downtown Cleveland, Ohio. (2 views, the closer one
has one of the signs partially blocked by a street sign.) What’s so
pants-y about them? 2 things:
(1) Their sheer redundancy. There’s nowhere that you can stand to
see the leftmost/furthest sign that you can’t also see the middle one.
Moreover, the two perpendicular signs on the corner (the middle and
right ones) could easily be replaced by a single sign extending
diagonally from the corner of the building. And yes, they all display
the same logo and time/temp on both sides, for a total of six displays
on a single building.
(2) Though you can’t tell from the photos, all of the signs always
read exactly 10 degrees F higher than the actual outside temperature,
as confirmed by the other two bank time/temp signs within a two-block
radius and the weather.com report. They’ve read high since installed
last summer. It’s beyond me how a professional sign installing
company can post 6–six! displays and not calibrate the thermometer (I
suspect a central feed, as all always read the same time/temp). At
least the time is correct.”
Thanks to everyone who participated (and apologies if your photos weren’t included in this challenge — we’ll getcha next time!) Anyone interested in participating in our next photo challenge, leave a comment here and let me know!
Comments (49)
Comment
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These are awesome! Why can’t I find cool stuff like this in my town? Maybe I’m not going to the right places.
posted by bryn on 1-28-2008 at 7:50 am
Count me in again, I looked and looked and could not find my pants. It’s not for the lack of weirdos around here though! ;)
posted by mrs.djs on 1-28-2008 at 8:11 am
These are great!
posted by LAZ DAD on 1-28-2008 at 8:22 am
Awesome pics…specially the missing allien one…lol…I went out on Saturday afternoon looking for something weird around my neighborhood and couldn’t find anything…I’m still game for next one tho! ;)
posted by Insolent Minx on 1-28-2008 at 8:32 am
Last night I drove through a city full of houses that would give kids nightmares. It’s called Baltimore.
I love these pictures, fun! :D The log bumper was pretty awesome.
posted by Lauren on 1-28-2008 at 8:39 am
I don’t have the picture any more, but there used to be a bar on High St. in Columbus, OH, called “Skankland.” Truth in advertising?
posted by Lisa on 1-28-2008 at 8:54 am
The Papa’s fuel/adult movie is on the far east end of Houston on I-10. I pass it many times heading to Beaumont.
posted by Chris on 1-28-2008 at 9:03 am
I had a great one but was out of town all weekend. Will the deadline always be on Sunday? I am in for the next one too.
posted by Carrie on 1-28-2008 at 9:19 am
Andre,
That looks like the artist who tagged that wall was a “Cheech Wizard” fan. I believe that the artist’s name who drew in that style was Vaughn Bode. He used to have a strip in National Lampoon back in the seventies. I have always loved his style. It is a wickedly funny comic too.
Speaking of which… National Lampoon used to have a page of reader-sent-in photos liked these called “What’s Your Sign”. Boy, I miss National Lampoon.
posted by Joseph on 1-28-2008 at 9:25 am
I love this stuff. After reading this i want to walk around my hood and look for gems of nerdiness. It shouldn’t be hard, i’m from Fargo.
posted by Nathumus Maximus on 1-28-2008 at 9:26 am
I’m in.
These are great.
posted by Kelly on 1-28-2008 at 9:35 am
As a child in Chicago, I lived on the south side in the early days of the Blackstone Rangers, a street gang. They would tag many buildings with black spray paint “Mighty Mighty Blackstone Rangers”. This was the early 1960’s, when this was not so common. My all time favorite spray painted graffiti, therefore, was the bright green “Now entering the territory of the Mighty Mighty Girl Scouts”. We used to have a picture of it in one of our family albums but who knows where it is now….
posted by Annette on 1-28-2008 at 9:36 am
i’ll do better next time, i promise… :)
posted by tuffy on 1-28-2008 at 9:44 am
Lisa,
I got to OSU and I’m sad to say that I’m pretty sure Skankland is no longer around. However the bar called The Library is still in buisness. Thank God.
posted by Amy on 1-28-2008 at 9:51 am
I wanted so badly to participate in this one! Unfortunately for me, the “pants” of my neighborhood is an old man who is always sitting on a bench beside the grocery store. Always. But I was much too shy to go and ask him if I could take a picture of him. So I’ll just double my effort next time around.
posted by marianne on 1-28-2008 at 10:07 am
Those are great. I didn’t see anything interesting in my neighborhood, sadly. The huge metal chicken/seagull does remind me of something we used to pass by on our way from Texas to Red River, New Mexico. It is this huge metal sea serpent (Avanyu?) statue thing that actually looks like it is swimming through the earth. I always found it quite awesome. :-) I wish I could find a picture online of it.
posted by nutmeag on 1-28-2008 at 10:11 am
Well sure, just depends on what the challenge is!
posted by Becky T. on 1-28-2008 at 10:36 am
In the picture of the sign that says, “No stopping, parking, or standing”, the word “standing” has a specialized meaning. It means to park your car but not get out, like when you’re waiting for someone or listening to the end of something on the radio. Taxis “stand”.
posted by Leslie on 1-28-2008 at 10:41 am
My pants suck!! Leave it to me to find the dumbest pants available when I’m surrounded by asylum escapees and college students. Bah!
posted by adrienne on 1-28-2008 at 10:53 am
I’m so bumming that I couldn’t find any pants in my neighborhood. Maybe next time.
You all did an AWESOME job!
posted by beth on 1-28-2008 at 10:58 am
After I saw all the incongruous business signs, I was bummed that I didn’t send in my photo of the giant Ivra’s Used Tires and BBQ sign in Phoenix, AZ. Although it technically wouldn’t count, because I snapped it on a vacation, not in my own ‘hood. Does anyone know if that sign is still up? It looked like the business was closed when I was took the pic about 15 years ago.
posted by Lebetho on 1-28-2008 at 11:12 am
Hey Lebotho –
Not to worry! Hang on to those incongruous business signs, that’ll be an upcoming photo challenge …
posted by Ransom on 1-28-2008 at 11:22 am
At our local county dump (they call it a “waste disposal facility”, there’s a big sign on the gate that says “Illegal dumping is illegal”. I’ve got a pic of it on my cel but don’t know how to upload it to enter the competition.
posted by Doc on 1-28-2008 at 11:29 am
Next time I’ll have to snag a pic of “Plum Broque” St. in Baton Rouge (The people who named it were being generous). Or maybe the alligator carved out of driftwood on the main road through St. Francisville. It’s been there so long (More than 20 years, at least) that it’s rotted, leaving no sign of the gator.
posted by Lindsey on 1-28-2008 at 11:30 am
Love the Charlie Brown tree!
I can’t wait to participate but like “Marianne” my “pants” is a person and she does not like having her picture taken. We call her the “blanket lady” and she is always walking around in white clothes or when it is cold a white blanket. She’s been around Cumberland, MD for at least 20 years now.
posted by Melanie on 1-28-2008 at 11:36 am
I couldn’t find the charger for my camera, alas, no pants for me. I was going to take a pic of the crumbling, decrepit Oregon State Hosiptal, basically the looney bin. It’s in the middle of town, and is memorable for being the location for the filming of “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.”
I vow to find the battery charger for my camera for the next challenge.
posted by jenny on 1-28-2008 at 12:34 pm
i wil have to do better next time to rank with these awesome finds
posted by kymberly on 1-28-2008 at 1:19 pm
I couldn’t find any “pants” good enough for this assignment but please don’t give up on me! I still want to be included in the next one I swear I’ll try harder!
posted by Sandy C on 1-28-2008 at 2:26 pm
Shame I missed this one. I lived in Eugene shortly. Damn Hippies! And now I live in Portland. Damn Hipsters!
posted by Nicole on 1-28-2008 at 3:13 pm
I unfortunately got sick and was unable to participate in this last one. I’m feeling much better now and I am ready for the next assignment. Great pix by the way!
posted by Wolf on 1-28-2008 at 3:17 pm
My dad has a picture I took whilst attending a photography class in college. It was on Amnicola Highway in Chattanooga, TN. Choo Choo Barbeque was located near an animal hospital. The sign for said animal hospital was unfortunately placed near the road and in front of the restaurant. The BBQ place thus had a sign that read “Emergency Animal Hospital”.
Sadly, Choo Choo Barbeque has moved to a less hilarious location, and has their own sign.
posted by Pearl on 1-28-2008 at 4:03 pm
My father, as a young hooligan in Chicago, witnessed the developing of a gang called the Latin Eagles, who spraypainted their names around the town. One night, he and a group of friends went around and repainted the names- only changing two letters- so the Latin Eagles became the Eatin’ Bagles. Man, I wish I had a pic…
posted by Leggy on 1-28-2008 at 4:12 pm
hopefully we’ll be able to revisit this assignment during spring/summer? all my pants are covered in snow!!! :(
some great pics by the flossy readers, my camera and I are patiently awaiting the next assignment
:)
posted by Clotho on 1-28-2008 at 4:40 pm
This was fun, so add me again for the next challenge.
posted by Beth on 1-28-2008 at 4:47 pm
One has to wonder if the mortician, Mr Long of Cambridge, MA, had a sense of humor when he designed the sign for his funeral home:
“Long Funeral Service.”
posted by CapeCodBob on 1-28-2008 at 4:56 pm
I’d like to be in again. Thanks, it was fun.
posted by Keri on 1-28-2008 at 8:52 pm
Ah, I have a fabulous photo for your next photo challenge. Just you wait…
posted by Sandy on 1-28-2008 at 11:45 pm
I dont have the picture right now but my husband and I were driving from North Carolina to Northa Dakota. While on a break for dinner some where in Wisconsin I believe, we passed a gas station called Cum-n-Go (correct spelling). Very amusing, had do slow down to get a pic of if :)
posted by Kim on 1-29-2008 at 12:05 am
I want in! I live Korea, I can think of many “pants” right now, mostly in the form of poorly translated signage
posted by Joanna on 1-29-2008 at 4:01 am
Tom Selleck is such a hunk.
Dreamy…
posted by magyarlany on 1-29-2008 at 9:50 am
Unfortunately life issues rendered me unable to participate in the photo challenge this time, but I’d love to try again next time!
posted by Katherine on 1-29-2008 at 9:59 am
Great photos! Keep me on the photo army! I didn’t have any pantspiration this time…
posted by Amber on 1-29-2008 at 12:21 pm
I’m pretty sure the Tom Selleck painting is simply titled Magnum P.I.
posted by Jennifer on 1-29-2008 at 2:09 pm
I failed at the pants challenge, but i’m game for another!
posted by Bernadette on 1-29-2008 at 3:01 pm
I think it would also be awesome to give each run a spot on flickr. yes indeed.
posted by ally on 1-29-2008 at 3:31 pm
I would love to be in on this! Too bad I’m late. I have a great “pants” picture.
posted by christina on 1-29-2008 at 6:11 pm
I’m a few days late on posting this comment, but I want to be in on the next one.
posted by Laura on 1-31-2008 at 11:56 am
Count me in for the next one.
posted by spider on 3-8-2008 at 8:23 pm
There is a large pine tree in the area near my door in my apartment complex. One day a few months ago, after having lived here three years, something about it looked strange and caught my eye as I walked by.
The managers had put a face on the tree with eyes, nose and a mouth… it’s slightly creepy but cute at the same time.
posted by Sarah in CA on 1-31-2009 at 12:16 am