In the last few weeks I’ve been enjoying looking through the literally hundreds of pictures that daughter Jenny has posted on her Facebook page from her European adventures. I can see that she really has quite a good eye for lighting and a nicely framed shot, but she also has an eye for spotting the delightful and sometimes ridiculous in signs posted everywhere from Ireland to Italy. Anyone who’s traveled much has certainly spotted those informational signs posted in several languages which, in the translations, can often have unintended if amusing messages. Several of Jenny’s sign pictures, though, don’t involve words at all, while others are amusing in their context or in spite of the fact that they were written in the “native” tongue.

One of Jenny’s early encounters with such eye-catching messages came on a trip to the beach here in Oregon. She and I were walking on the boardwalk in Seaside and came upon a large blue-and-white tsunami zone warning sign. It depicts an enormous, three-story wave cresting over a tiny stick figure fleeing from the shore, and arrows point in the direction of a “tsunami evacuation route.” She insisted that I snap a photo of her next to the sign, posed in that same position of running from the threat with a terrified expression on her face. Amused not by the very real danger of tsunamis but by the exaggeration necessary in the sign to get its point across to we silly humans, she has kept an eye out for similar messages ever since.

While visiting the grounds at Versailles in January, she snapped a photo of a sign apparently meant to warn of the risk sloping pathways pose to the wheelchair-bound. A wheelchair (empty) in silhouette zooms down a 45-degree slope (three short lines behind the chair indicate the rapid rate of its descent). It’s really quite alarming — and amusing — in its stark depiction of man vs. terrain.

At the Cliffs of Moher in Ireland, Jenny saw that all the signs in the world, exaggerated or otherwise, simply won’t deter some folks from risking life and limb for a photo opportunity or a little rebellious thrill. The Cliffs rise to a maximum height of 700 feet straight up from the crashing waves of the ocean below (if you’ve seen The Princess Bride, you’ve seen the Cliffs of Moher). Most sane people would not require any kind of warning to stay back from the edge, but Jenny’s picture of the long string of signs telling visitors to stay on THIS side of the fence, do not go beyond this point, etc., etc. would suggest otherwise. That, and the fact that in that same frame one can clearly see some crazy soul trekking along the cliff edge well beyond the safety zone.

Another favorite of mine from this particular subset of travel photos is one taken in Vatican City. I myself have been to plenty of churches and mosques where visitors are requested to dress modestly via written notices, but I’d never seen a graphic depiction of that message like the one Jenny found. At the top, above the stern words “No Entry” and their equivalent international symbol are two of those generic male and female figures usually found on restroom doors. The female here, however, is dressed not in her usual A-line dress but in what appears to be a sleeveless mini with a plunging neckline — complete with cleavage! The male wears short shorts and a sleeveless tank top. The bottom half of the sign depicts a lady in a below-the-knee dress with sleeves and a modest neckline, while the gentleman seems to be attired in neck-to-ankle long johns. They are accompanied by “YES” and an arrow helpfully directing one to the entrance. No quibbling here; if your clothing doesn’t match the picture, it’s No Entry for you!

Got any sign stories you’d like to share?

— Patty Vanikiotis, proofreader