Barcelona strikes again.

A number of Barcelona's fountains display this fine pair. 'No swimming' is obvious but the other one????

"If you swim here lightning will strike you in a very painful place"?

Suggestions please.

[Barcelona - 25 February 2007]

First, no playing and now - no walking

A number of parks in Barcelona have this trio of signs. 'No football', I can understand; 'No Dogs' is quite clear; but 'No walking in the park' seems a little strict.

[Barcelona - 25 February 2007]

Wouldn't dream of it ...

Play in a park? What a crazy notion! Everyone knows parks are really there for ...

[Snapped by (another) Murray while ignored by Max in Victoria Park, Nuwara Eliya, Sri Lanka - January 2007]

Is this an international phenomenon?

A question posed by Joe James who snapped and forwarded this matching shot.

Perhaps they are constantly putting out the trash?

The sign on the door says, "No Parking. In Constant Use."

The small green sign says, "Another service provided by Islington Council."

I wonder what that service is?

[Old Finsbury Town Hall, London, UK - 27 January 2007]

So now we know who is responsible!

[Oxford St, London, UK. November 2006]

Warning! Birds evolving in flight.

Other suggestions welcome.
(Maybe a local can translate?)


[Spotted by Laura on summer vacation in the north Fjords of Iceland, 2006]

Now here's a novel idea ...

Who would have thought it? Fancy getting tickets from a ticket office - but only if you haven't already done so.

[Spotted by in Iceland by Laura from Italy,
Stykkisholmur Harbour Summer 2006]

I think it is time for "T"

An explanation of the crack in the hull of the SS Great Britain. Since, as in this notice, ships are referred to as 'she', who is the 'His'? The other interesting thing is that the ship had sat on the sea floor for 33 years without the wind and some 24000 tides breaking her in half so the last sentence is a tad dramatic.

[SS Great Britain exhibition, Bristol, UK - 28 October 2006]

There's this great new tool called Spellcheck!

Again, not a sign, but far too good to not share with you all.

Then again, perhaps it is a 'sign'

Too late! - I looked

Driving west towards Vancouver on Highway 1 there was a motorway information sign, the type they use for variable signs about traffic conditions etc. It read "FOCUS ON THE ROAD", but by then it was too late, I had taken my focus off the road and read the sign!

[9 October 2006]

What is the world record for throwing flies?

How far can the average person throw a fly?

Or, perhaps it is something to do with baseball?

[Thames Festival, London September 2006]

Ummmm, including this notice?

[Haberdasher's Hall, London September 2006]

Braille roadsigns for blind drivers

We can, exclusively, reveal secret tests of the new braille road signs. Remember folks, you saw it here first - this will not be reported anywhere else on the Web.

[Braemar, Scotland - September 2006]

There is something fishy about this sign

[Snapped by Dean Finnie in Cape Town]

Circular gravity discovered

This sign is helpfully placed at the top of a cliff. You will have to take my word for it that there is absolutely nowhere a rock could fall on you from if you can read this sign. Therefore the rocks have to drop off the eroding cliff at your feet, circle up around and fall on your head. Unfortunately climatic conditions were such that the phenomenon was not happening on the day we were there.

[St Andrews, Scotland - August 2006]

I thought it was cakes that were liable ...

These are all over Scotland. Considering the numbers of foreign drivers on the roads I am sure the single word "Ice" would be more easily comprehended than this mouthful. Notice, too, the hinges: these signs were able to be closed when the message was inappropriate yet we saw dozens when we toured in the height of summer!

[Scotland, August 2006]

'All' has been redefined

I guess the fact that the 'All Butter' twists had Cheese in them was a bit of a give-away but even so a look at the ingredient list shows that 'All' now equals 29%.

[At an M&S store near you]

P.S. They are very scrummy

Stating the obvious, but not clear for all to see - 2

Sighted visitors can see that these interpretation boards are written in braille, the blind visitors cannot see the word "Braille" on the post, so what is the point of putting it there?

[National Botanical Gardens of Wales]

Stating the obvious, but not clear for all to see

In case its is hard to decipher, the sign reads. "New sign required"

[Goodnestone, Kent UK]

"Caught" in the act

Unless, of course, the sign on the other side of the pole says, "Reading of signs prohibited"

[Kennet & Avon Canal, 20 August 2006]

Startling revelations from the Dairy industry

Although, come to think of it, isn't milk the one thing that butter doesn't contain? My understanding of the butter production process is that the cream is skimmed off and separated from the milk and the cream is churned into butter while the milk is used for other purposes.

[On a restaurant butter pat somewhere near you]

They need to get back to the Book ...

Isaiah 40:31But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.

Psalm 37:9 but those that wait upon the LORD, they shall inherit the earth.

How do they tell if you are waiting or loitering?

[Joe, who found this in Caledonia, Ontario, Canada always thought there were only 10 commandments.]

A public body with a sense of humour??

Spotted by Pat Bays.

[near Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada]

Who writes this rubbish?

How, exactly, does a camera enforce traffic?

And why do they use a pictogram of a camera that most people could not identify with? When did you last see a camera with an expanding bellows lens arrangement?

(Although, if you squint and imagine hard, you can see the profile of a dog's head with a muzzle on it's snout.)

[On a street, any town, all over the UK]

Battery's not included?

OK, so where do I plug my battery shaver in?

[At a Travelodge near you.]

Answers on another postcard, please.

Thinking caps on again. What is this sign saying?

[Found by Clare, I know not where.]

And the winner is ...

Time to close competition number one. As with all good competition conclusion speeches, "The quality of the entries was extremely high and the judges found it very hard to come to a conclusion. They would like to thank all the entrants and are disappointed that you could not all win etc, etc, blah, blah ..."

The real answer, as supplied by Prasad, was that the sign is posted on the way to a beach in the Harihareshwar, India, area. It's supposed to warn motorists of people who are so taken by the sudden appearance of the sea that they may be running towards it.

Well, THAT was obvious wasn't it?

I am going to give first place to Cal with "when dancing, beware of spontaneous decapitation ..." and a close second to Teutsch with "Help! Man stuck in triangle!"

Poor unloved little thing ...

Not only does no one love it enough to adopt it, the poor thing has an identity crisis: Is it a Road? Is it a Lane?

[Stamford, UK 15 April 2006]

I know this is not a sign but ...

Why are there FIVE holes in these ancient stocks? Don't legs come in pairs?

[Spotted under the Buttercross at Oakham, 16 April 2006]

Provisions for the after-life?

[The second of Krista's African collection.]

Well the sign certainly is ...

Not the most compelling advert on the planet.

[Sent in by Krista who says " collecting interesting/funny signs has been one of my on-going personal projects since I arrived [in Africa]."]

Not ANOTHER health warning!

In order to protect us from ourselves, the government will no doubt decree that all songs mentioning Love are, henceforth, banned.

[But perhaps it only applies in Harihareshwar, India where Prasad found this sign for sale.]

Someone is having a laugh.

It appears to be for real, but must be a gag, read the small print.

[Another Emily Harte 'catch']

Big Brother is watching, maybe ...

But only if they trespass while we're watching.

Perhaps they meant to say, "This area is now under surveillance. From time to time trespassers will be prosecuted."

[Sent in by Tanya Giannelia who spotted it on Duckworth Street, St. John's, Newfoundland]

Reassured, they drove on ...

What a comforting thought! Can't see any cellphone towers on the horizon either!

[Nevertheless, Emily Harte made it safely back to share this with us.]

I'm gonna get me some of this ....

I wonder how much this 'cut price cash' costs? Unfortunately the shop was closed but if you happen to be driving along the A4 near Halfway (yes, that is the name of the place) then do stop by and grab a bargain.

Answers on a postcard, please.

The first ever SillySigns competition. Post your answers here with the chance of fame and glory. One day I may declare someone the arbitrary winner.

The question: What is this sign trying to say?

[Spotted by Prasad Ramamurthy who, as in all good competitions, is ineligible along with his family, relatives, employees, employers, school-friends, pets, advertising agents, laywers etc etc.]

First no skating, and now THIS!

As Liza Passanisi (who sent this one) says "I really don't know what to say."

But hey! It was seen in Tasmania .....

[Bruny Island, Tasmania, Australia]

I'm seeing a pattern here ....

Is there something going on in the good ol' US of A that the rest of us need to "worry" about? (See Jan 27 post)

[Spotted in Indiana and contributed by Adam Diehl]

How will the faithful ever learn?

Thanks to Kristin.
[Spotted on the wall of the Chapel in the Garden of Gethsemane, Jerusalem]

Others will be towed!

If there was a SillySigns "Sign of the Day" prize this would win it. Unbelievable!

[Thanks to Emily Harte]

(come back, she has more ....)

This is no time for confusion

It's an emergency! Quick, quick, what are we supposed to do? Run towards each other or in opposite directions?

[Fire exit sign where I work - London, UK]

Housekeeping

Since I put an email address on this site I have been inundated with "419 scam" emails so I presume they are harvesting addresses. In an attempt to confuse the automatic systems I am posting the address in a different form and will see if I can use this post as a source for a link in the side bar.
As you can see, I succeeded. Wasn't too hard even with my limited HTML skills.

OK, who forgot to tell the birds?

[Spotted in Florida by eagle-eyed Alex]

Is that the best they can say about it?

Still, I wouldn't want them kept in my hometown either!

[Spotted and submitted by Clare Beaumont]

And, before I get flamed: Vancouver is a great city, I enjoyed my time there.

I have heard of skate bowls but this is ridiculous!

Who would want to go roller-blading in a toilet anyway?

Could you use a U-bend as a half-pipe?

[Faversham, UK - April 2006]

I never saw the sign officer, honest I didn't

That is no excuse for speeding, sonny!

[Sandwich - April 2006]

Brazen hussies

The cheek of it! Advertising on the front gate!

Spotted by Kevin in Salisbury

OK, so that's left for Texas, right?

I'm glad we cleared that up!

Contributed by Sharon, Mar 2006

The situation is THAT bad?

Apparently the chances of catching the MRSA superbug or some other dread complication are so high in UK hospitals that the Health & Safety Executive require warning signs at hopsital entrances.
[Northwick Park Hospital, London - March 2006]