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
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