Comments on: Unhelpful Road Signs http://blog.ivman.com/unhelpful-road-signs/ one French professor's humorous and serious perspectives on life... Sat, 13 Mar 2010 02:26:40 -0500 http://wordpress.org/?v=abc hourly 1 By: Leah http://blog.ivman.com/unhelpful-road-signs/#comment-8304 Leah Sun, 11 Oct 2009 15:57:30 +0000 http://blog.ivman.com/?p=2848#comment-8304 Oh, hahahaha!!! SUCH a good laugh over these! My favorites would have to be "Caution: Pedestrians Slippery When Wet" (took me awhile to figure out what was funny, then I laughed my head off) and "Speed Limit: 45... Good Luck." You've got a great site here! I'm surprised at how I never saw it before. Oh, hahahaha!!! SUCH a good laugh over these!

My favorites would have to be “Caution: Pedestrians Slippery When Wet” (took me awhile to figure out what was funny, then I laughed my head off) and “Speed Limit: 45… Good Luck.”

You’ve got a great site here! I’m surprised at how I never saw it before.

]]> By: Rob http://blog.ivman.com/unhelpful-road-signs/#comment-7866 Rob Thu, 09 Jul 2009 13:45:29 +0000 http://blog.ivman.com/?p=2848#comment-7866 @Martin - That's funny about the Antiguan animals. Ours in the US are much less literate. Thanks for the link too. I've often thought the same thing when seeing a Slow Children sign. :-) @Martin – That’s funny about the Antiguan animals. Ours in the US are much less literate. Thanks for the link too. I’ve often thought the same thing when seeing a Slow Children sign. :-)

]]> By: Martin Samuel http://blog.ivman.com/unhelpful-road-signs/#comment-7864 Martin Samuel Wed, 08 Jul 2009 16:17:29 +0000 http://blog.ivman.com/?p=2848#comment-7864 Hello, There used to be a sign on the perimeter of the, then unfenced, Antigua airport that read, 'Animals on airport property will be shot'. If the Antiguan animals are clever enough to read, they probably know better than to wander onto the runway. My personal favourite sign in the U.S.A. is, Slow Children Playing: http://www.usa-traffic-signs.com/SearchResults.asp?Search=children What, no sign for Smart Children? 'bye, Martin Hello,

There used to be a sign on the perimeter of the, then unfenced, Antigua airport that read, ‘Animals on airport property will be shot’.
If the Antiguan animals are clever enough to read, they probably know better than to wander onto the runway.

My personal favourite sign in the U.S.A. is, Slow Children Playing: http://www.usa-traffic-signs.com/SearchResults.asp?Search=children

What, no sign for Smart Children?

‘bye,
Martin

]]> By: Rob http://blog.ivman.com/unhelpful-road-signs/#comment-7620 Rob Sat, 16 May 2009 14:03:46 +0000 http://blog.ivman.com/?p=2848#comment-7620 @Michael - Good to hear from you! Thank you for the link to the series of funny signs on the Telegraph. I hope to include some of them in future "sign posts." They don't seem to be copyrighted, being contributed by readers. @David - I checked it out myself, David, before approving the comment. There are some great ones there. What's interesting is that, for most of the signs, when you click on the image to view the original posting with a larger image, the link leads to a different image from the the image in the thumbnail. Hmm. You're right, though, I snagged several for future funny sign posts. :-D @Michael – Good to hear from you! Thank you for the link to the series of funny signs on the Telegraph. I hope to include some of them in future “sign posts.” They don’t seem to be copyrighted, being contributed by readers.

@David – I checked it out myself, David, before approving the comment. There are some great ones there. What’s interesting is that, for most of the signs, when you click on the image to view the original posting with a larger image, the link leads to a different image from the the image in the thumbnail. Hmm. You’re right, though, I snagged several for future funny sign posts. :-D

]]> By: David McGuire http://blog.ivman.com/unhelpful-road-signs/#comment-7619 David McGuire Sat, 16 May 2009 13:50:39 +0000 http://blog.ivman.com/?p=2848#comment-7619 I sampled the Daily Telegraph website that Michael suggested, and there some hilarious road sign bloopers that might appear in some future installment of the "ivman blague." And you did hear about the farmer who asked the county highway department to remove the "Deer Crossing" sign adjacent to one of his fields. He had grown weary of the deer eating his crops, so he requested that the sign be moved down the road to someone else's property. Of course, the farmer assumed that the deer could read English. <abbr><em>David McGuire’s last blog post..<a href="http://pillsburyhistoryguy.blogspot.com/2009/03/transition.html" rel="nofollow">Transition</a></abbr></em> I sampled the Daily Telegraph website that Michael suggested, and there some hilarious road sign bloopers that might appear in some future installment of the “ivman blague.”

And you did hear about the farmer who asked the county highway department to remove the “Deer Crossing” sign adjacent to one of his fields. He had grown weary of the deer eating his crops, so he requested that the sign be moved down the road to someone else’s property. Of course, the farmer assumed that the deer could read English.

David McGuire’s last blog post..Transition

]]> By: Michael http://blog.ivman.com/unhelpful-road-signs/#comment-7618 Michael Sat, 16 May 2009 12:47:06 +0000 http://blog.ivman.com/?p=2848#comment-7618 Hi Mr Loach, I enjoyed you latest road sign photos! With the Daily Telegraph making all the daily headlines in the UK these days, I recently came across the following treasure chest of funny road signs, which you might enjoy! There are so many of them that I have not had a chance to see them all yet, but those I did see were pretty funny too! http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/picturegalleries/signlanguage/ Enjoy! Michael Hi Mr Loach,

I enjoyed you latest road sign photos!

With the Daily Telegraph making all the daily headlines in the UK these days, I recently came across the following treasure chest of funny road signs, which you might enjoy! There are so many of them that I have not had a chance to see them all yet, but those I did see were pretty funny too!

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/picturegalleries/signlanguage/

Enjoy!
Michael

]]> By: Rob http://blog.ivman.com/unhelpful-road-signs/#comment-7616 Rob Sat, 16 May 2009 12:04:56 +0000 http://blog.ivman.com/?p=2848#comment-7616 @Jenni - Wow! Gorilla crossing?! I think I might like navigation in Guam. I love it when instructions include landmarks since signage is often difficult to find or to read fast enough to act. When I know turn right on Such-and-such Street, right after you pass the big stone church, <b>that</b> is helpful! I passed your most recent blog post "Use Google Maps to send locations to your GPS!" on to someone I know who is grappling with navigational problems. @Donna - As I recall, it's kind of the same way in France (maybe all over Europe?). You have to know the name of big cities beyond where you're going to know which road to take. This is especially unhelpful when you've gone around a roundabout several times and can no longer remember which way is N-S-E-W. @David - The final sentence in your comment is similar to what I often say to my French students after clarifying something - French is almost like a foreign language. :-D @Jenni – Wow! Gorilla crossing?! I think I might like navigation in Guam. I love it when instructions include landmarks since signage is often difficult to find or to read fast enough to act. When I know turn right on Such-and-such Street, right after you pass the big stone church, that is helpful! I passed your most recent blog post “Use Google Maps to send locations to your GPS!” on to someone I know who is grappling with navigational problems.

@Donna – As I recall, it’s kind of the same way in France (maybe all over Europe?). You have to know the name of big cities beyond where you’re going to know which road to take. This is especially unhelpful when you’ve gone around a roundabout several times and can no longer remember which way is N-S-E-W.

@David – The final sentence in your comment is similar to what I often say to my French students after clarifying something – French is almost like a foreign language. :-D

]]> By: David McGuire http://blog.ivman.com/unhelpful-road-signs/#comment-7615 David McGuire Sat, 16 May 2009 01:04:02 +0000 http://blog.ivman.com/?p=2848#comment-7615 Just couldn't resist commenting on Donna's comment about driving to Bristol. When you drive from England into Wales, you cross the River Wye. This of course led to a comment from the wise guy in the back of the coach, who sarcastically said, "Oh, there's another bridge over the River Wye." [Insert reference to a 1957 WWII film]. And once you get into Wales, many of the signs are in English and Welsh. How the Welsh are able to read the Welsh language, I'll never figure. It's like driving in a foreign country! <abbr><em>David McGuire’s last blog post..<a href="http://pillsburyhistoryguy.blogspot.com/2009/03/transition.html" rel="nofollow">Transition</a></abbr></em> Just couldn’t resist commenting on Donna’s comment about driving to Bristol. When you drive from England into Wales, you cross the River Wye. This of course led to a comment from the wise guy in the back of the coach, who sarcastically said, “Oh, there’s another bridge over the River Wye.” [Insert reference to a 1957 WWII film]. And once you get into Wales, many of the signs are in English and Welsh. How the Welsh are able to read the Welsh language, I’ll never figure. It’s like driving in a foreign country!

David McGuire’s last blog post..Transition

]]> By: Donna http://blog.ivman.com/unhelpful-road-signs/#comment-7614 Donna Fri, 15 May 2009 15:19:53 +0000 http://blog.ivman.com/?p=2848#comment-7614 In England, my biggest frustration was that the highway signs would not say East/West/North/South--they would just say, "Highway 12 to Bristol." If we were headed to a little town somewhere along the way, I was frantically looking at the map to see if it were in the direction of Bristol or the other way. I kept telling my husband to drive around the roundabout again while I tried to figure out which branch off of it to take! In England, my biggest frustration was that the highway signs would not say East/West/North/South–they would just say, “Highway 12 to Bristol.” If we were headed to a little town somewhere along the way, I was frantically looking at the map to see if it were in the direction of Bristol or the other way. I kept telling my husband to drive around the roundabout again while I tried to figure out which branch off of it to take!

]]> By: Jenni http://blog.ivman.com/unhelpful-road-signs/#comment-7613 Jenni Fri, 15 May 2009 11:29:27 +0000 http://blog.ivman.com/?p=2848#comment-7613 As we were driving down the highway in Japan, I saw a "Gorilla Crossing" sign! Sadly, I didn't have my camera handy to get a picture of it! When I lived on Guam, a lot of navigation was done by landmarks. There are street signs, but so many are missing! (Blown away in typhoons & never replaced?) <abbr><em>Jenni’s last blog post..<a href="http://ertlnet.blogspot.com/2009/05/use-google-maps-to-send-locations-to.html" rel="nofollow">Use Google Maps to send locations to your GPS!</a></abbr></em> As we were driving down the highway in Japan, I saw a “Gorilla Crossing” sign! Sadly, I didn’t have my camera handy to get a picture of it!

When I lived on Guam, a lot of navigation was done by landmarks. There are street signs, but so many are missing! (Blown away in typhoons & never replaced?)

Jenni’s last blog post..Use Google Maps to send locations to your GPS!

]]> By: Rob http://blog.ivman.com/unhelpful-road-signs/#comment-7612 Rob Fri, 15 May 2009 10:34:51 +0000 http://blog.ivman.com/?p=2848#comment-7612 @Suzanne - Bonjour! Good to hear from you from the Land Down Under! You describe some interesting local signage (or lack thereof) that must be amusing and not so amusing also. It was interesting to note that Australia also has roundabouts. In France the equivalent "rond point" adds some delightful adventure to driving. When first invented, I believe it was those entering who had the right of way over those already <del datetime="2009-05-15T10:35:06+00:00">trapped</del> er... driving in the rond point. It caused so many problems that it was reversed, except where signs indicate otherwise. (If someone with a knowledge of driving history in France could clarify anything I've misstated, please do so.) And so the rond point can be a great thing, but it definitely adds some excitement to the mix. Drive safely on the other side of the road on the other side of the world! Greetings to James! @Suzanne – Bonjour! Good to hear from you from the Land Down Under! You describe some interesting local signage (or lack thereof) that must be amusing and not so amusing also. It was interesting to note that Australia also has roundabouts. In France the equivalent “rond point” adds some delightful adventure to driving. When first invented, I believe it was those entering who had the right of way over those already trapped er… driving in the rond point. It caused so many problems that it was reversed, except where signs indicate otherwise. (If someone with a knowledge of driving history in France could clarify anything I’ve misstated, please do so.) And so the rond point can be a great thing, but it definitely adds some excitement to the mix.

Drive safely on the other side of the road on the other side of the world! Greetings to James!

]]> By: Suzanne Hood http://blog.ivman.com/unhelpful-road-signs/#comment-7610 Suzanne Hood Fri, 15 May 2009 04:56:32 +0000 http://blog.ivman.com/?p=2848#comment-7610 I don't usually comment, but I've greatly enjoyed your posts, and the one about the road signs was great. Here in Australia, sometimes we're lucky to see a road sign when we really want one. We can drive for miles before we know what the speed limit is. And then when we approach a town (village, really -- store with a couple of houses beside it), the speed limit slows suddenly and without warning. And as soon as you pass the last house (within 30 seconds), there's another sign posted for the original (?) speed limit. One interesting sign that we've seen along the way from Albury to Melbourne is the name of a road: Carraragaramungee Road. I think I'm spelling that right! The Aboriginal names out here are hilarious! I think I may now know how to pronounce that, but the sign for it is quite long. In Melbourne (and in most of the "bigger" towns), they don't post the name of the road you're on. And sometimes they don't post the name of the road you're wanting to be on. Somehow, you're just supposed to know. And as you go around the roundabout, you hope that the "eenie" or "meenie" or "mynie" or "moe" was the right choice. But then again, you might not be able to get there from here. Or in Sydney, you'll more than likely need to make a U-turn. Crazy! Just thought I'd add my 2 cents. Hope all is going well! I don’t usually comment, but I’ve greatly enjoyed your posts, and the one about the road signs was great. Here in Australia, sometimes we’re lucky to see a road sign when we really want one. We can drive for miles before we know what the speed limit is. And then when we approach a town (village, really — store with a couple of houses beside it), the speed limit slows suddenly and without warning. And as soon as you pass the last house (within 30 seconds), there’s another sign posted for the original (?) speed limit.

One interesting sign that we’ve seen along the way from Albury to Melbourne is the name of a road: Carraragaramungee Road. I think I’m spelling that right! The Aboriginal names out here are hilarious! I think I may now know how to pronounce that, but the sign for it is quite long.

In Melbourne (and in most of the “bigger” towns), they don’t post the name of the road you’re on. And sometimes they don’t post the name of the road you’re wanting to be on. Somehow, you’re just supposed to know. And as you go around the roundabout, you hope that the “eenie” or “meenie” or “mynie” or “moe” was the right choice. But then again, you might not be able to get there from here. Or in Sydney, you’ll more than likely need to make a U-turn. Crazy!

Just thought I’d add my 2 cents. Hope all is going well!

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