Danger in Unexpected Places

I'm not sure what your morning commute is like, but I will venture to say that my drive to work is far more hazardous than yours unless you are driving to work in ... let say...I don't know...BEIRUT!

Recently, the powers that be felt it necessary to inform us that we might encounter some danger on our way to work by posting this lovely sign!

This is in addition to the already existing:I better keep my wits about me as I drive to work in the morning. Not that my drive needs any more excitement than it already has!

Just today I was laughing at the DJs on an Austin radio station that had people call in to talk about odd package warnings people have seen. A woman called in to say that her sleep aid box said, "Warning! May Cause Drowsiness." Um, isn't that the point?


Wouldn't it be nice if all of life's pitfalls came with such a warning sign. I would have loved to know that my bachelor's degree in psychology wasn't worth the paper it was written on in the eyes of my future employers. How about a sign written on the person sitting next you on airplane that states, "I will not stop talking for the entire international flight from New York to France," or "I have an uncontrollable cough from an unspecified disease that I will not only spread to you but to every one else on this flight." What would those signs look like?

I think the most important requirement for a warning sign however is that it is understandable to those who need it, unlike this sign

Photo from Flickr by Ben Beiske

All I am walking away from this sign understanding is, maybe I should just turn around.

While looking up signs to share with you, I found this site that tracks various stick figure warning signs like the ones you see on the side of ladders. Good for laugh if you need one.

When in your life have you wished there had been some sort of warning sign? Or was there one and you were just too focused to see it. I am sure that has been the case for me many a time.

Comments

Julie Tucker-Wolek said…
These are JUST toooooooooooo FUN!!! Thanks for the giggle! :):):):):)
May 4, 2009 at 8:54 PM
miruspeg said…
Gee Annemarie did you forget to take your happy pill today! Are you trying to scare me off coming to Texas with that first sign. The second sign I can handle as I have learnt from Crocodile Dundee (Paul Hogan) how to handle those creatures.
As for the 3rd sign I wonder how we will cope with reading the signs in Norway?

"When in my life did I wish there had been some sort of warning sign"......well probably from the day I was born! In other words too numerous to recall.

Yes Julie was right, it was a fun post.

:-P
Peg
May 5, 2009 at 5:37 AM
littlemissattitude said…
My question is this: Did they warn the cattle about the overhead artillery fire?

Because, you know, I think that if they didn't, there might be a lawsuit involved.

Tee hee. Sorry, couldn't resist.

Elaine
May 5, 2009 at 9:44 AM
Andre Rodriguez said…
My favorite warning of late was on a pack of cigarettes a friend of mine recently brought back from Mexico. It stated quite plainly: "SMOKING KILLS." 'Nough said.

Of course apparently traveling to Mexico can kill now, too.
May 5, 2009 at 1:10 PM
Andre Rodriguez said…
The third sign appears to be in Indonesian and says something about disposing of trash carelessly results in damage to the forest.

Ain't Google great!?
May 5, 2009 at 4:18 PM
McMGrad89 said…
Thanks,Brother. I knew I could count on you.
May 6, 2009 at 6:17 AM
Roban said…
I haven't seen any artillery warnings around here. That one is a little scary! You might need to take the long way around for now on.

WARNING: 8th-grader Dealing with Big Issue Ahead. Proceed with caution.
May 7, 2009 at 8:41 PM
Jan said…
Amazing signs, Annemarie! Warning signs - I think that sometimes I've been too naive to see them - or perhaps in denial. I haven't made it to your blog recently (been buried in the move!), so it's good to check it out. Be sure to let Caitlin know I cropped her picture of us to use as my profile pic. Take care! xoxoxo Jan
May 13, 2009 at 9:34 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

I Love Tissue Paper

Image
If you saw my Discipline collage , you can tell I have a thing for tissue paper. I have used it make inchies and to paint mountain/sunset scenes. Now I am working on some ATCs . I have done some before using the same cardstock I am using this time. However, I am tired of this background and want to alter it some how, so here's where the process went. (Note: I did try it on some sample-sized pieces of cardstock first so you might see those pop in from shot to shot.) I began with a plain piece of cardstock (it is supposed to be green/yellow.) I lightly drew a line on the card. I then squeezed some glue onto the card (don't ask why it's blue...that's another story.) I used scrap piece of stock to spread the glue to get a perfectly straight edge. I laid the tissue paper onto the wet glue and pressed out the bubbles. (You could use a brayer, it gets messy.) I trimmed the excess tissue. (I have torn it before, too, for a different effect.) After the glue dried, I took the c
Read more

I'm Baaack...At Least for a Bit

Image
Long time no post. So what brings me back? Quirky Dutch Summer . Week 1 has me making my own art journal.  This sent me on a field trip to Hobby Lobby where I found quite a deal on journals, canvases and a pad of primed sheets of canvas. (More than 75% off.) I then dug through a very old stash of acrylic paint. All of my art supplies are in the garage after I cleaned out my office for Thanksgiving a year and a half ago. I needed room for a long table. I also didn't want my company seeing my messy workspace. I've not brought much in since then. That's what I'm liking about Quirky Dutch Summer. It has me playing in my art stuff again. I have no plans this summer and my youngest is about to leave for cousin camp, giving me plenty of time to get my hands dirty. So let me show you what I've made. First I painted the front of the canvas. Then I painted the back and let them dry overnight.  I folded the edges over and glued them down. I used Aleene&
Read more

Change of Plans & Calendar Journal Time

Image
Well, as a family we were all going to use the long weekend to trek down to Texas and rip out carpet and paint walls. Come to find out, Gary doesn't have Monday off so it would make a really bad turn around time. So...we decided to stay home and make plans to go another time. Meanwhile, all I can envision is the money pouring out of my already empty pockets into the mortgage and utilities for a house we aren't using. :-( Now, I will look for some free activities to do in the city for the Labor Day weekend. I have seen several advertised on tv. I hope the temperature stays cooler than yesterday (102F.) Yesterday I lazed around the house feeling a little sorry for myself wondering why I don't have a job yet. So I got out my sketchbook and calendar journal and fiddled around. I have been thinking about working on a set of note cards to sell at some local gift shop. They would look like some of these: I just want to unify the theme of them so they seem more like a set.
Read more