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On Warnings

As we were walking down from the top of the Rock of Gibraltar this past October, we saw two road signs that I’ve never seen before … but they got me thinking about signs at home … so one day, I took note.

I left the house for a few errands, but didn’t get out of the subdivision before I see my first warning sign.
NoParking

Turning onto the main road, the lines are giving me a message … yes, in this case, a warning.

RoadLines

I stopped at the bank, which greeted me with this warning.
SignBank

I stopped at a novelty store looking for a gift, thus encounter an owner delivering a warning with a sense of humor.
SignStore

It’s lunchtime – I’m hungry. Instead of the No Shirt, No Shoes, No Service sign, I encountered this warning sign.
SignRestaurant

I stopped at the grocery store because tonight we have a homemade pizza – so I’m very glad the pepperoni company told me this. (Look in the label’s lower-left corner)
SignPackage

What are some of the unique warning signs you’ve encountered?

64 thoughts on “On Warnings”

  3. “Do not eat packet”! That’s hilarious, Frank! No unique warning signs come to my mind, other than recalling my mother had a unique way of warning me to “knock it off” when I was a kid behaving rembuctiously. She would ask, “Do you want a slap?” I always wanted to reply, “No, I want a cheeseburger and fries.” But since I’m alive to share that tale, I kept my pie-hole shut when given that warning.

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    • Lame,
      Not only did you not say it, fortunately your mother did read your mind. … but that is a great line. Meanwhile,the good folks at Hormel were very thoughtful in letting me know because without it, I would have ruined the pizza.

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  5. I’m always amazed, when I travel outside the US and hike, how FEW warnings there are on potentially-dangerous trails. I’m so used to guard rails and big signs warning me to keep back! In places I’ve been, though, you can hang your body right over a cliff and no one says a word, or puts up a fence to keep you back!

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  6. The bunnies I get, but the grasshopper? Are they that big that a driver might see them crossing the road?!!!!! I’m glad you read that warning and didn’t …eat the packaging!
    I remember a sign in a toilet at the recording studio saying “To the next person who throws toilet-paper in the toilet, we promise the worst production ever!”

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  7. Your post will make me take greater note of the diversity of warning signs I encounter on a day to day basis. Here’s about a famous warning which won the “Stella Award” in 2002 for the most ‘outrageous lawsuit:’

    “In November 2000, Mr. Merv Grazinski purchased a brand new 32 foot Winnebago motor home. On his first trip home, having joined the freeway, he set the cruise control at 70 mph and calmly left the drivers seat to go into the back and make himself a cup of coffee. Not surprisingly, the Winnie left the freeway, crashed and overturned. Mr. Grazinski sued Winnebago for not advising him in the handbook that he could not actually do this. He was awarded $1,750,000 plus a new Winnebago, and the motorhome company was required to put a warning in their operating manuals about the dangers of leaving the driver’s seat after engaging the cruise control.”

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  13. When I was a student at UC there was a sign on Calhoun Street that read “Please Do Not Walk in Front of Moving Traffic.” Good advice.

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  16. The image of the rabbits above the slow sign seems like a mixed message to me. I mean, what if you are illiterate. Would you not think the sign is telling you to pick up the pace? I am also troubled by the caution – praying mantis for reasons I can’t quite put my finger on, but I suspect it is because I am troubled that there is a place where there are so many crossing mantises that you have to have a caution sign.

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    • Allie,
      I wish I knew about the intent of the rabbit and praying mantis signs in Gibraltar. Upon seeing them, I had to take a picture because I’ve never seen anything like them before. My first thought wasa about migration patterns, but the bottom line is Who Knows!

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  17. Ha! I find it unbelievable that we actually have to be told not to eat the plastic surrounding a pepperoni package. And surrounded by naked is not what I want to be around while having a cuppa joe or a sandwich. Funny post Frank!

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  18. You are paying attention, Frank. I think the Eat Naked sign is my favorite. Don’t eat the package comes in a close second. I can’t think of any signs at the moment, but now I’m going to keep an eye out.

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    • Amy,
      Some signs catch my attention … especially then there is something that doesn’t seem to be normal. And thanks to the legal system, interesting ones are out there. I especially enjoy the peanut warning on a can of peanuts.

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  21. Such funny signs! I’m glad you were warned not to eat the package. 🙂
    While on my recent Chincoteague trip, the other women and I each posed with a “No public nudity” sign on one of the trails.

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  22. I remember near my family’s town, there was a sign that said “Get your Fried Fish and your live Bait” LOL. A restaurant and a bait shop. It might not sound strange, but I don’t think I would want to eat there. I think it’s just a townie thing. Loved your Naked sign though :).

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  24. You were very observant, Frank. I think the warning on the pepperoni package is just great, and does remind me of one of my favorites–stating the obvious! One of the local garden centers has a very nice decorative fountain. Here’s this beautiful water feature and they’ve placed a cage around it with a big sign and large bold writing warning onlookers to “Beware!” Standing too close might cause a person to get splashed! I laugh every time I see this and think of what a strange world it is when water splashing is a potential lawsuit! What a world. 🙂

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