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I know that Goddess Karen is the sign queen, but I saw so many interesting signs on my trip to England and Scotland that I just had to share.
This first one from Liverpool is quite practical, and especially appropriate since our trip was to celebrate Hubby’s 60th!
I know that this next one must have something to do with traffic, but obviously it lost something in the translation:
Actually, I need it in my office. My priorities change with the wind, and my family could use the warning!
I LOVE this next one, because you would never see it in the U.S.:
Clearly we need more castles! And traffic signs that will point them out to the oblivious who are wandering around the back roads of Nairn, Scotland, looking for said castles (ahem).
And finally, I had to laugh at this sign, which is actually for a product that goes back to the 19th century and stopped being sold in the ’80′s. I just love that York has kept the ad for it carefully preserved. It has a charm all its own.
I need some of those! Too bad they don’t make them anymore. 
What signs have you encountered in another state or country that perplexed you or tickled you? What products have you seen in old advertisements that you’d never see these days?
56 Comments on “Signs of Culture Shock”
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I have looked at tins and wondered what the heck they were used for. Most signs don’t confuse me because I tend to work out what it is for.
Posted on June 27, 2012 at 4:59 am.
You mean, because of what’s on them or because of the shape?
I love old tins. Some of them are really pretty.
Posted on June 27, 2012 at 10:50 am.
We have some weird road signs in the UK. Google ‘Funny British Road Signs’ for a laugh.
Sabrina – I loved your diary about your trip to England a couple of years ago. Will you be writing one about your trip to Scotland?
Posted on June 27, 2012 at 5:10 am.
I’m planning on it! I started it, but then I came home to so much work to catch up on that I haven’t gotten beyond the first two days!
Posted on June 27, 2012 at 11:31 am.
When I went to the Blue Lagoon in Iceland, my mom and I had a great laugh over the signs in the shower. It shows a woman washing her you-know-what and her underarms. Apparently they just wanted us to clean certain parts of us before going in…
Posted on June 27, 2012 at 7:18 am.
That’s so funny. Is it like a lake or a natural body of water, or was it a swimming pool? We probably could use a sign like that here in America. *G*
Posted on June 27, 2012 at 11:32 am.
My daughter just returned from a college trip there and the Blue Lagoon is a geothermal (seawater) spa that’s absolutely gorgeous – along with all of Iceland. Her pictures are unbelievable.
Posted on June 27, 2012 at 7:22 pm.
I couldn’t think of any ads so I looked some up. Here are a few to creep everyone out.
http://www.2spare.com/item_92595.aspx
You definitely wouldn’t see these anymore.
Posted on June 27, 2012 at 7:24 am.
Yep…that one ad has put me off pork forever.
Posted on June 27, 2012 at 8:12 am.
Wow. “Blow in her face and she’ll follow you anywhere”? Seriously? They thought women would love the smell of smoke THAT much? They clearly thought highly of smoking back then if they advertised with babies and Santa Claus…
Posted on June 27, 2012 at 9:50 am.
Freaky!
Posted on June 27, 2012 at 10:53 am.
Wow, Lori, those are astonishing!!!
Posted on June 27, 2012 at 11:35 am.
There are signs in Massachusettes that just make me laugh. You’ll be driving in heavily wooded areas and you’ll see “Densly Settled” signs.
Really? Could have fooled me.
Posted on June 27, 2012 at 8:07 am.
What does that MEAN? Do they mean they’re densely settled by trees? Woodland animals? That’s so weird.
Posted on June 27, 2012 at 11:36 am.
In Austin, there is a restaurant in the downtown area called El Arroyo, and they are known all over town for their funny signs, especially during football season for UT.
Sometimes they are off-color and sometimes pervy, but they usually still get a chuckle out of most. Most could likely offend someone somewhere, but most people just drive on by and don’t make too much of a fuss. One sign was “Low cut blouses are looked down upon in this establishment.” Pervy for sure, but still a funny play on words. There was one referencing a monthly event compared to the Alabama Crimson Tide…one giving a visiting former-President Clinton directions to a sorority house…I’m sure you get the drift. 
I love the priorities one! I’ll have to see if I can find one of those.
Posted on June 27, 2012 at 9:05 am.
That’s funny! I like that people can still feel free to joke around.
Posted on June 27, 2012 at 11:37 am.
I took my sons to England when they were young teens, and when we got back to the US, my oldest said, FINALLY, an exit sign! I thought the WAY OUT signs were cool. He did not.
Posted on June 27, 2012 at 9:16 am.
I know!!! Those “way out” signs are funny, but I guess they’re more direct than the exit signs. They make trying to leave a place pretty basic.
Posted on June 27, 2012 at 11:38 am.
When I was in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico several years ago, I saw a storefront with the words in big blue letters: “Master Baiters”. It was the name of a bait and tackle shop. I took a picture, too.
Posted on June 27, 2012 at 9:46 am.
OMG, I laughed out loud at that one, Cheri! That’s so great!
Posted on June 27, 2012 at 11:39 am.
Minot, North Dakota. A hotel room I had been booked into, courtesy of the US government, for whom I worked at the time. Close the door and a big sign on the back: “Please do not clean game or fish in room.”
Eewe. eewe. And big double eewe.
Posted on June 27, 2012 at 10:05 am.
Doesn’t it make you wonder exactly how many people did it before you stayed there, to necessitate putting up a sign??
Sheesh!
Posted on June 27, 2012 at 11:40 am.
I want the priorities sign for my office! We were in a bar in Nebraska and there was a sign at the door that said
“If this phrase has come out of your mouth….ask for a glass of water, and don’t drive”: I NOT AS THINK AS YOU DRUNK I AM….
Posted on June 27, 2012 at 10:06 am.
I bet that one made people laugh! It’s very clever.
Posted on June 27, 2012 at 11:40 am.
The only signs I can think of are some I saw when visiting the Cayman Islands. There is a little spot there named Hell. When you enter the area there is a sign that reads “Welcome to Hell.” Did you know that Hell even had a post office? Lol. It’s all I got today!
Posted on June 27, 2012 at 10:21 am.
I can’t believe there’s an actual place named “Hell”! Wow, that’s funny.
Posted on June 27, 2012 at 11:41 am.
Bile Beans… well, I’m shocked that they went out of business! The Changed Priorities sign is especially fabulous. I can’t think of any that I’ve seen, but I love looking at these. Ellen DeGeneres has some funny ones on her website.
Posted on June 27, 2012 at 10:50 am.
Yep, couldn’t we all use some Bile Beans? *G* Ooh, I’ll have to go look at the Ellen DeGeneres site!
Posted on June 27, 2012 at 11:42 am.
I remember AYDS diet candy – I ate a bunch when I was a kid thinking my mom was hiding chocolate from me in her drawer. I hope that’s off the market
Posted on June 27, 2012 at 10:55 am.
I remember that, too! I forgot about them. Yeah, I bet they ARE off the market.
Posted on June 27, 2012 at 11:43 am.
I can’t think of any funny sign put up anywhere near where I live.
But I guess that already the name of my street could be funny to foreigners. It is called PAARDENTRAPSTRAAT which means, if you translate it into English, HORSES’ STAIRS STREET.
Of course you have to go way back in history to understand the meaning (and most Belgians wouldn’t know it either). In the 18th and 19th (and before that) we had a rather big garrison in our town. Those soldiers had horses for the cavalry, and they needed to be washed. Old legend says the soldiers brought their horses to whereabouts we live (there is a brook) and took them down to the water to clean them up). Hence the ‘stairs for horses’, as the road went down to the brook.
Posted on June 27, 2012 at 11:11 am.
That’s actually kind of cool, especially with the historical background. But you’re right, most people would look at the phrase “Horses’ Stairs” and go, “Huh?”
Posted on June 27, 2012 at 11:48 am.
I love the priorities one, I need that sign as well.
My mother and I have always had fun looking for funny signs, and will text or call each other whenever we find one.
My favorite is and always will be the-
Caution Slow Children Ahead
I love that they never put any punctuation in there to make it sound better.
Posted on June 27, 2012 at 12:09 pm.
That’s hilarious! Yes, I’ve seen some where a bit of punctuation would have really made the difference!
Posted on June 27, 2012 at 2:22 pm.
I live in Nebraska, and grew up in Colorado. I get a chuckle out of the gender specific cattle signs
http://www.dreamstime.com/stock-photos-stock-photos-road-sign-warning-cattle-image4973653
Apparently we only need to worry about cows (not bulls or calves) with horns
Is it because our polled (hornless) cows are better behaved and remain off the roads? *G*
Posted on June 27, 2012 at 12:10 pm.
LOL! That’s very funny.
Posted on June 27, 2012 at 2:35 pm.
The one that always raises my eyebrows is the name of a roadhouse in Alaska; I’ve never been there, but several friends have alerted me to its existence. Obviously it is *not* an innocent mistake. The name?
Skinny Dick’s Halfway Inn
http://www.skinnydicksak.com/
Posted on June 27, 2012 at 12:40 pm.
What *I* love is the URL! Yes, I know what it’s SUPPOSED to refer to, but really … *G*
Posted on June 27, 2012 at 2:36 pm.
My favorite sign was outside a church in in Stratford-Upon-Avon, England. The sign read:
Holy Trinity Church
with Shakespeare’s
Grave Inside
OPEN
LOL!
Posted on June 27, 2012 at 1:49 pm.
Oh, I love that! Another case of proximity of words being everything. *G*
Posted on June 27, 2012 at 3:52 pm.
Reminds me of when I took my son to Germany several years ago. He was in awe of the signs for for exiting, Ausfahrt. Typical of any 11 year old…giggle giggle giggle. We still grin about that trip to this day.
Posted on June 27, 2012 at 2:06 pm.
That IS just the sort of thing an 11-year-old would find amusing.
Then again, there’s a sign here for Angus Barn, and my 40+ year old brother pointed out that the high school kids around our area must have fun painting over the “g” all the time. Really? He’s still thinking like that at 40+?? Sheesh!
Posted on June 27, 2012 at 3:54 pm.
Greetings from Austria where I can’t understand any of the signs; don’t speak German.
I took a picture of a sign outside a Zagat-rated “restaurant” that read “no outside food or drinks”. It was funny only because it was the local dive of a roadstand my mother picked for Mother’s Day dinner.
Posted on June 27, 2012 at 4:37 pm.
I’m so jealous of you being in Austria! Hope you’re having fun. You have to post pics for us when you get back!
Posted on June 27, 2012 at 6:40 pm.
I find old ads interesting, especially those from the early 20th century that show contraptions we don’t use anymore. Also patent medicines (a bit like your beans!). I guess some would say we still have those in a way, but the old ads were so over the top in promising to take care of just about any problem.
Posted on June 27, 2012 at 5:24 pm.
I know. And make sure you look at Lori’s link–those are the most upsetting old ads I’ve ever seen. Sheesh!
Posted on June 27, 2012 at 6:41 pm.
I’d rather have your definitions of ‘changed priorities’!!
It’s used when roads narrow too much that cars are unable to pass each other. So at one narrow bit the ‘priority’ goes to the left hand side, and at the next narrow bit, the ‘priority’ goes to the right hand side. Hence the ‘changed’ bit
Completely and utterly British, I’m afraid.
Hugs
Carole-Ann
Posted on June 27, 2012 at 6:02 pm.
Thank you SO much for explaining! When I put the pic up, I STILL had no idea what it meant!!
Yes, utterly British for sure.
Posted on June 27, 2012 at 6:41 pm.
It’s been so long since I was out of the country that I’m coming up blank. You got some good signs out of your trip!
Posted on June 27, 2012 at 6:15 pm.
Well, that just means you need another trip!
Posted on June 27, 2012 at 6:42 pm.
Donna my sons loved the ausfahrt sign too. My eldest will be chuckling over that sign for the next few days as we saw him off on his travels to germany tonight, he comes back sunday night.
Posted on June 27, 2012 at 6:15 pm.
It’s been over 10 years since I went to London but I still get a kick out of “Mind the Gap.” Not only were there signs in the subway but also the audio to remind you.
Posted on June 27, 2012 at 8:46 pm.
I forgot about that one! Yes, that one resounded in my mind, since we rode the train (and the subway) everywhere!
Posted on June 27, 2012 at 10:17 pm.
These signs make me so homesick for England ! British signs are so practical and no nonsense! I know I have a photo somewhere of a knight on a horse charging with a lance. It was the sign directing us to Warwick Castle where they held some of the most authentic jousts and feasts I have ever seen. Where else would you see sign like that but England!
Posted on June 27, 2012 at 10:20 pm.
Yes, I loved the practicality of the castle sign. Clear, no-nonsense … and it had a pic of a castle!
Posted on June 27, 2012 at 10:45 pm.
My son-in-law spent about a month in Norway last year. He’s a nature photographer and his blog is loaded with some great shots. The one that I love best is his shot of a Norwegian Speed Bump sign. Click on the link and scroll down until you find it…maybe 17 pictures down, near the end. So funny!
http://davidstimac.wordpress.com/2011/04/06/arctic-finland-norway-part-3/
Posted on June 30, 2012 at 12:45 pm.