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Tuesday, 11 June 2013

Lost in translation

A friend of mine posted this photo on Facebook today, and I shared it as I thought it would be great if you found it and used it for Rinda's scavenger picture for an unintentionally funny sign
It amused me because the red sign obviously refers to the fact that the road is under maintenance and the cats eyes have been taken out.  The fact that it's next to the sign for a vets made it funny.

However ... turns out that they don't have 'cats eyes' in their roads in America and some of my Facebook friends thought it was horrific!  Apparently George Bernard Shaw said that the USA and England were 'two nations divided by a common language' and I guess it's true. So for my American friends who think I have a cruel sense of humour here's the story of the Cat's Eye !

And I'm still on the hunt for my own funny sign.  I did drive out to a nearby village which is called 'Ugley' at the weekend as I know that there is a Women's Group there called the Ugley Women's Institute but it turns out they don't advertise themselves in any signage!
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14 comments:

  1. scrappyjacky11 June 2013 at 18:23

    I must admit I think the sign is hilarious....and had to smile at the obvious confusion of some of our American friends on Facebook.
    I'm not surprised the Women's Institute don't advertise themselves!!

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  2. Cheri11 June 2013 at 19:21

    We do have reflective strips in the roadway, but I've never heard them called anything but reflectors. I read that sign literally (obviously) and couldn't imagine why they would advertise such a heinous thing!

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  3. Deb @ PaperTurtle11 June 2013 at 20:10

    Ah-ha! Ok, NOW it makes sense! Kind of like my sign that I posted today saying "today's flavor is TURTLE." I thought everyone knew that turtle flavor was chocolate, caramel and pecans but turns out I was wrong. Haha - love our silly little differences.

    Hey, speaking of differences, how'd you like the American pudding? ;o)

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  4. Lou11 June 2013 at 20:50

    ha ha...a good one!!

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  5. Abi11 June 2013 at 23:41

    This made me laugh a lot! The sign and the confusion it caused! I love quirky road signs and am on the look out for mine!

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  6. Amy12 June 2013 at 03:38

    That's a really good one!

    We get the reference down here, call them the same thing.

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  7. Anonymous12 June 2013 at 06:30

    Love this sign Debs - I can understand how it could be confusing though.

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  8. Maria Ontiveros12 June 2013 at 07:06

    It is a great capture; too bad you weren't the one who took it.
    Rinda

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  9. Sian12 June 2013 at 08:35

    Eugh. Gross. As TSO would say

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  10. Miriam12 June 2013 at 10:17

    Thats the funniest thing I have seen for ages!

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  11. This West London Life13 June 2013 at 18:31

    I laughed out loud when I first saw it ~ brilliant!

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  12. Anonymous19 June 2013 at 10:42

    I was really wondering about that one. Thanks for the explanation. :)

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  13. Becky20 June 2013 at 09:30

    This made me laugh, then I laughed even more at the reaction of the Americans!!

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  14. Rachel Brett22 June 2013 at 13:14

    So funny Deb! Such a shame the WI didn't have a sign up! Lol :)

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