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Reuters is reporting today that police have ordered a British woman to take down a sign from her front yard that reads “Our dogs are fed on Jehovah’s Witnesses.” And while her neighbor just recently complained that the sign was offensive (incidentally, the only dog the woman owns is a terrier puppy named Rabbit), she’s actually had the sign up for more than 30 years to keep door-to-door evangelists away. And while the sign story is somewhat interesting, I’m actually surprised that Reuters didn’t pick up on this instead: the most amazing strange sign gallery on the web. Dubbed the Hall of Technical Documentation Weirdness, it’s just a collection of bizarre (unPhotoshopped!) signs. I can’t tell you what most of them mean, but I can tell you I love them. Anyway, don’t thank me, thank the folks at Neatorama for the link.
Talk about hours of fun for the whole family. Nice find! The one with the guy wrapped around the pole is particularly curious. Is he enjoying it and raising the roof or crying out for help?
Sidenote: I saw a road sign on a north-south street in Los Feliz a few days back which read “No Access to the Hollywood Sign!” I guess they got sick of tourists making the pilgrimage?
posted by David on 7-28-2006 at 12:47 pm
Maybe it’s a sign for Yoga Classes Ahead?
posted by Mangesh on 7-28-2006 at 1:22 pm
I read in the book “Anguished English” that there is a sign somewhere in England in the middle of a field that says, “Do not throw rocks at this sign.”
posted by Jordan on 7-28-2006 at 10:54 pm
Pretty funny, some of them.
But if you like funny photoshopped signs, you should visit this webpage: http://zoned.dk/plug.php?e=gallery&f=8
posted by John on 7-31-2006 at 6:09 am
Ol twistie guy is just trying out for the Olympics . . .
The one that is, perhaps, the saddest is the . . . “Do not place children in dumpsters” sign - a sign of the times?
posted by Donna on 8-3-2006 at 8:08 am
About the guy wrapped around the pole–that pole looks like a drive shaft (either from a large truck or a big piece of machinery). I would guess this sign is to indicate that if one got too close, they could get wrapped up on the pole (and that would leave a mark).
posted by Tim on 8-3-2006 at 8:54 am
Signs in Singapore
http://photography.ambjorn.com/bakkie/Singapore-SignCity.wmv
posted by Michael Ambjorn on 8-3-2006 at 9:41 am
We actually did a piece a while back on how Singapore was ranking the cleanliness of toilets in various stores and restaurants, and some of the ads in their campaign were pretty (intentionally) hilarious. Your video reminded me of some of that.
posted by Mangesh on 8-3-2006 at 11:32 am
The dumpster one is actually for big tupperware like storage bins. “Don’t store your baby in the bin” is what it appears to be saying.
a friend of mine saw a sad but curious sign in Texas. It was like a deer crossing sign, but it showed a picture of a family running. Presumibly for people coming in from Mexico. “People Xing”
posted by JO on 8-3-2006 at 11:36 am
The sign of the man around the pole looks like a warning that you see on the power take offs on the back of tractors. And did you every wonder why the put a sign that says no baby in the commode tank?
posted by john on 8-3-2006 at 11:50 am
The pic of the handicapped symbol and guy with the gas nozzle is one that says an attendant will pump your gas for you if you drive a vehicle with a handicapped sticker.
posted by Rogers George on 8-3-2006 at 12:40 pm
The weirdest caution sign I’ve ever seen was on the back of an enormous industrial washing machine. Image 1 was of Stick Guy climbing into a washing machine. There was an arrow to Image 2, which was Stick Guy in a coffin. Yup, climb into the washing machine and you will die.
posted by Cosmic Jester on 8-3-2006 at 5:28 pm
the twisted stickman sign is indeed an OSHA approved safety reminder to stay clear of power take off shafts on farm equipment and tractors.
posted by retail refugee on 8-3-2006 at 9:36 pm
Does anyone remember the big ad campaign to encourage people to remove the doors on discarded refrigerators? Kids were getting trapped and dying, and that was the response.
The sign in Texas has a twin in Southern California. The intent is to warn drivers of illegals running across the freeways.
Carlos Mencia, a popular comedian, ran a skit about those signs on his Comedy Central show. You can find it on comedycentral.com/motherload
posted by Dion on 8-7-2006 at 11:00 pm
The sign with the small child in some kind of container is actually a warning sticker on a readily available plastic storage bin (about 18″x24″x18″)– I pointed it out to friends when I bought said bin. I am caught between derision and despair. You know the only reason that sticker exists is because somebody actually tried it!
posted by Pat Reilly on 9-18-2006 at 2:05 am