# Amusing Signs **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [February 3, 2024, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amusing-signs/997074 "2024-02-03T19:04:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 10
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2024, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amusing-signs/997074/181 "2024-02-12T15:24:03Z")
Around here roads are commonly named after 1. people who used to live there a hundred years ago, 2. the town the road goes to, or went to at one time. 3. a major business, like a that has long since folded. The usual habit of naming a road after the town it goes to is especially challenging for newcomers, since no one at the time of naming grasped that roads generally go both ways. If you are going west the road has one name and if you are going east, another name. Sometimes. Fairly often there are multiple roads named for the same town they go to. The result is that people rarely refer to roads by their names at all. “The river road to Janesville” or “the back road to Janesville that goes through Dogtown” is how people talk. ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2024, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amusing-signs/997074/182 "2024-02-12T17:59:47Z")
> [@solost](#): > > We also have an Airport Road, a Hospital Road, and a Hatchery Road. The surveyor or whoever was responsible for naming things back in the day did not have a very creative mind. In Northwood NH there is an Old Dump Road I drive past several times a year. I have never been tempted to turn down that way. ---
**Author:** ![Old\_Wench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ecccb3/32.png) [@Old\_Wench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Old_Wench)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2024, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amusing-signs/997074/183 "2024-02-12T18:52:26Z")
Guess what’s on Cemetery Lane near me? Four cemeteries, 3 or 4 cemetery monument companies and a nursing home (among other things). ---
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2024, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amusing-signs/997074/184 "2024-02-12T19:02:29Z")
Short commute for the soon-to-be ex-residents, but what a depressing view out your window in the meantime! ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2024, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amusing-signs/997074/185 "2024-02-12T19:27:26Z")
> [@Old\_Wench](#): > > Guess what’s on Cemetery Lane near me? Four cemeteries, 3 or 4 cemetery monument companies and _ **a nursing home** _ (among other things). (Emphasis mine) That is one unfortunate street address for a nursing home. “Hello, I’m calling to arrange a delivery to the Shady Rest Senior Facility.” “OK, what’s the address?” “123 Cemetery Lane…” “Haha. What’s the _ **real** _ address?” “Ummm…” ---
**Author:** ![Old\_Wench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ecccb3/32.png) [@Old\_Wench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Old_Wench)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2024, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amusing-signs/997074/186 "2024-02-12T19:50:12Z")
> [@purplehorseshoe](#): > > Short commute for the soon-to-be ex-residents, but what a depressing view out your window in the meantime! Fortunately the cemeteries are on the top part of the road & around several bends, out of view from the nursing home. However, McKeesport Hospital overlooks McKeesport Versailles Cemetery. (Note that around here, “Versailles” is pronounced “ver-sales,” not “ver-si”. If you say “ver-si,” people look at you like you’re crazy.). ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2024, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amusing-signs/997074/187 "2024-02-12T19:59:45Z")
> [@Quondam\_Mechanic](#): > > Doesn’t it lose its flavor on the bedpost overnight? Please don’t swallow it in spite. One of the developments in the north of town named the streets for singers. Operations & Maintenance eventually had to post the name sign for Hendrix Drive on a streetlight pole to put it high up enough to be hard to steal. ---
**Author:** ![I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/i_love_me_vol.i/32/521_2.png) [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_Love_Me_Vol.I)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2024, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amusing-signs/997074/188 "2024-02-12T20:17:15Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > Except the **W** was burned out so it read > > > **AFFLE > > HOUSE** > > Which doesn’t look so bad, but pronounce it in your head and it seems pretty apt. Hah! Curious if people read that as _“Awful House”_ or _“Offal House”._ ---
**Author:** ![Seanette](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/seanette/32/9139_2.png) [@Seanette](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Seanette)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2024, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amusing-signs/997074/189 "2024-02-12T20:20:38Z")
To me, those would sound very much alike. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2024, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amusing-signs/997074/190 "2024-02-12T20:47:06Z")
Agree w @Seanette. In my dialect those words are completely indistinguishable. My mental decode of AFFLE HOUSE was “awful house”. Offal is a word I know, but substantially never use. If I’m going to eat or refer to any of it, it’ll be the specific species and organ, not the generic term. YMMV of course. ---
**Author:** ![Treppenwitz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treppenwitz/32/3445_2.png) [@Treppenwitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Treppenwitz)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2024, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amusing-signs/997074/191 "2024-02-12T21:39:17Z")
I’ve posted this a couple of times before, but what the hell: > **[Ham Sandwich sign · Northbourne, Deal CT14 0NH, United Kingdom](https://maps.app.goo.gl/dSR7C4iZenoeRW836)** > > ★★★★☆ · Tourist attraction Not sure about “tourist attraction” - it’s a road sign, and it does indeed point towards the villages of Ham and Sandwich in East Kent. j ---
**Author:** ![Railer13](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/railer13/32/9742_2.png) [@Railer13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Railer13)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2024, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amusing-signs/997074/192 "2024-02-12T21:54:45Z")
> [@Yllaria](#): > > Operations & Maintenance eventually had to post the name sign for Hendrix Drive on a streetlight pole to put it high up enough to be hard to steal. That’s similar to the mile marker sign in Colorado: 419.99 miles. Once pot got legalized in the state, the ‘420’ mile marker sign kept getting stolen. > **[419.99 Mile Marker](https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/41999-mile-marker)** > > When zealous marijuana enthusiasts kept stealing the "Mile 420" highway marker, the State of Colorado got creative. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2024, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amusing-signs/997074/193 "2024-02-12T22:57:35Z")
The same thing with [US-666](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._Route_491#U.S._Route_666) People kept stealing the signs, especially the week after it was announced the designation was being changed to US-491, since 66 was no longer there for it to be a spur from. > [@Ulfreida](#): > > “The river road to Janesville” or “the back road to Janesville that goes through Dogtown” is how people talk. Or worse, “Turn left at where the Piggly Wiggly used to be.” ---
**Author:** ![Ignatz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/3be4f8/32.png) [@Ignatz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ignatz)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2024, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amusing-signs/997074/194 "2024-02-12T23:04:39Z")
Favored street/name sign booty in towns I’ve worked: Hooker Rd 69th St Mile 420 and they kept covering the C in CANAL Dr ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2024, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amusing-signs/997074/195 "2024-02-13T00:15:25Z")
I have property right off of old 666. It’s a shame it doesn’t exist any more… ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2024, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amusing-signs/997074/196 "2024-02-13T04:41:13Z")
[![](https://i.cbc.ca/1.7112966.1707773340!/fileImage/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/16x9_780/dawson-creek-mouse-sign.jpg) ](https://i.cbc.ca/1.7112966.1707773340!/fileImage/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/16x9_780/dawson-creek-mouse-sign.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2024, 8:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amusing-signs/997074/197 "2024-02-13T08:38:54Z")
I can tell you why. Those big bully’s jump high on hot pavement. It will scare the bejeeus outta you. If you’re unaware. I’ve had them hit the windshield. One time one hit my car and ended up stuck to the luggage rack. When we got home and looked it was still alive and trying to get his fat body loose. We got him out and put him by our pond. When I hear croaking frogs at night I always remember the thankful look he gave when he dove into the water. Also it makes a real mess when you squish one under a tire. ---
**Author:** ![Treppenwitz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treppenwitz/32/3445_2.png) [@Treppenwitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Treppenwitz)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2024, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amusing-signs/997074/198 "2024-02-13T13:40:06Z")
I don’t doubt that those sorts of things happen in Arkansas, Beck, but this is Outwood in Surrey for goodness sake! Dame Judi Dench lives there - we can’t have frogs jumping on our national treasures! (I _thought_ the sign was there because there there were protected natterjack toads in the pond, but I’ve completely failed to establish this. Hmmm.) j ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2024, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amusing-signs/997074/199 "2024-02-13T13:58:16Z")
> [@Treppenwitz](#): > > (I _thought_ the sign was there because there there were protected natterjack toads in the pond, but I’ve completely failed to establish this. Hmmm.) In Germany, the reasons for the “Caution, toads crossing” signs are actually to slow down or even stop traffic to let the animals pass, and to warn against skidding on squished toads. ETA: and what @Mops said in his more elaborate post beneath. ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2024, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amusing-signs/997074/200 "2024-02-13T13:58:16Z")
> [@Ignatz](#): > > 69th St I see your ‘69th Street’ and raise you a highway sign in my part of the state that’s been making 13 year olds snicker for years: > **[https://i.redd.it/4mq8583b47871.jpg](https://i.redd.it/4mq8583b47871.jpg)** [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amusing-signs/997074.md?page=9) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amusing-signs/997074.md?page=11)