Signs - No, No, No!
/When a sign says NO, don't you just want to dig your heels in and do whatever it says not to do? There are already so many NO's in life, it just adds insult to injury. I was nearly overwhelmed on the airlines the other day with all those little circles with lines through them. Lots and lots of no-no-no's. I dislike having an amorphous sign maker tell me “NO!” when it sometimes seems so obvious that whatever they're telling me not to do, shouldn't be done anyway. It's pretty apparent they've been erected for stupid people who can't figure out that setting off fireworks in a dry forest, for instance, or putting hot ashes in a plastic trash bin might not be prudent. The people who are that stupid probably don't read either, so there's that to consider.
I wonder if the folks who make up signs realize how alienating their words can be. I'm okay with “Please refrain from …” I like polite. I'm pretty inclined to follow polite directives. Of course, “please refrain from loitering” or “please refrain from speeding” wouldn't really have the same impact and would necessitate much larger signs just to accommodate extra verbiage.
Do things like this bug you? Why not share?
Here's my collection of “NO” signs. Please refrain from making negative comments.
| Days and Ways to Celebrate |
| A daily list of mostly obscure holidays and fun ways to celebrate them. |
| Ear Muffs Day |
| If you've got earmuffs, wear 'em now...hopefully winter's almost over. Thank Chester Greenwood for this invention. |
| Open Your Umbrella Indoors Day |
| So why is it bad luck to do this? Because bad luck will "rain" down on you. In order to dispel these old superstitions, today's the day to tempt fate, open your umbrella indoors and see what happens. I'd do this...but don't ask me to start a passage on Friday! |
