# "Can't you read the sign?" **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 20, 2015, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-you-read-the-sign/710340 "2015-01-20T01:41:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2015, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-you-read-the-sign/710340/21 "2015-01-20T13:09:40Z")
So does it make you wonder if anyone is reading your protest sign? Did it make you wonder if you are wasting your time? Or am I the only one who made that connection? ---
**Author:** ![kayT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayt/32/3633_2.png) [@kayT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayT)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2015, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-you-read-the-sign/710340/22 "2015-01-20T13:16:42Z")
Stupid signs: There’s a sign on a road nearby that says “Hills Block View Next 4 Miles.” My comment each time I pass it is that the hills pretty much block the view everywhere, not just here. On topic, oblivious people. I used to work for Sears in the Cashier department. When entering our area, the first thing one would see was a giant sign reading “Gift Wrap”. People walked past this sign to come to our counter and ask “Where is the gift wrapping department?” One of my co-workers would often reply “right back there by the giant huge enormous red Gift Wrap sign.” No one ever called him on being rude; I don’t think they even heard what he said. ---
**Author:** ![Student\_Driver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3da27b/32.png) [@Student\_Driver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Student_Driver)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2015, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-you-read-the-sign/710340/23 "2015-01-20T13:19:55Z")
At my store, we have two entrances: grocery and general merchandise. For security and staffing reasons, we close the GM doors at 10, lock the doors, turn out the lights in the vestibule, and hang a giant plastic banner outside the doors that stretches about 15 feet across that directs customers to the other side. In addition, after 10 pm, it’s pretty much obvious which side is open: all the cars in the lot are parked in front of grocery, and people are streaming in and out. I go outside with coworkers for their 15 minute smoke breaks. And at least 5 times each break, we watch a car cut across the parking lot, park in the part with no other cars, walk up the lot, detour around the giant banner to the dark vestibule, then attempt to tug open all four sets of non-responsive automatic doors. Sometimes we catch them, yelling “you have to come in over here!,” but usually they ignore us. Still not as bad as when our store was on _fire_. We had a store quickly filling with smoke, couldn’t locate the source, and began evacuating. Smoke billowing out the front doors. And customers would just push past us to go into the smoke… “I’m just getting a few things.” “There are no cashiers, we’re evacuating.” “No cashiers? But it’s a big store, the fire isn’t _everywhere_!” ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2015, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-you-read-the-sign/710340/24 "2015-01-20T13:47:07Z")
> [@kayT](#): > > On topic, oblivious people. I used to work for Sears in the Cashier department. When entering our area, the first thing one would see was a giant sign reading “Gift Wrap”. People walked past this sign to come to our counter and ask “Where is the gift wrapping department?” One of my co-workers would often reply “right back there by the giant huge enormous red Gift Wrap sign.” No one ever called him on being rude; I don’t think they even heard what he said. A few times a year people will come into my store and say “Excuse me, can you tell me how to get to the airport?”. I’ll just point across the street and say (trying not to laugh) “um, it’s right there”. Seriously, it’s across the street. I mean, a few people are just looking for how to get _into_ the airport and some people made a horrible wrong turn on a freeway interchange and are trying to get to O’Hare in Chicago and not Mitchell in MKE, but, honestly, [here’s](https://www.google.com/maps/@42.95923,-87.893882,3a,75y,186.96h,90.97t/data=!3m4!1e1!3m2!1s171kISF8IX2jOxte-qtYvw!2e0!6m1!1e1) the [view](https://www.google.com/maps/@42.959097,-87.904982,3a,75y,173.77h,80.93t/data=!3m4!1e1!3m2!1seLghTkqLZ-PItmf9x06mxg!2e0) from where I work. It’s not a great picture, but it’s a giant field with a bunch of runways and planes flying overhead. If you can’t find the airport it means you were trying to follow someone’s directions and never actually opened your eyes and looked out the windows. Once you find it, if you really don’t know the area, all you have to do is follow the fence line until you find the sign that says “arrivals” or “departures” and pull in. It’s not that big. I can drive all the way around it in less than 10 minutes. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2015, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-you-read-the-sign/710340/25 "2015-01-20T14:08:17Z")
So, there’s a sign on the door, but they want to be sure. 'Cause you know sometimes words have two meanings. ---
**Author:** ![Bam\_Boo\_Gut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8c91f0/32.png) [@Bam\_Boo\_Gut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bam_Boo_Gut)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2015, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-you-read-the-sign/710340/26 "2015-01-20T15:13:38Z")
A shop close to me has moved three buildings up the street. They have a sign to say so and an arrow indicating which way you should go. People flounce down the steps and head off in the opposite direction. I was having lunch at the place opposite so it was entertainment for me. Luckily for the shop keeper some dude was outside painting a building on the street, I counted four sets of people asking him for the store in the half hour I was there, including a woman whose child was pulling her and telling her ‘Mum - it’s THIS way’. ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2015, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-you-read-the-sign/710340/27 "2015-01-20T15:15:20Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > So, there’s a sign on the door, but they want to be sure. > 'Cause you know sometimes words have two meanings. That’s only they’re looking for the stairway. ---
**Author:** ![Catamount](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/catamount/32/2840_2.png) [@Catamount](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Catamount)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2015, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-you-read-the-sign/710340/28 "2015-01-20T15:25:16Z")
My favorite sign is one I saw while driving around in a small town: “Fire Station Left.” ---
**Author:** ![kopek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kopek/32/337_2.png) [@kopek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kopek)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2015, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-you-read-the-sign/710340/29 "2015-01-20T15:36:21Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > **FREE BEER TOMORROW** > > I’ve had bartenders tell me that people have returned the next day after reading the yellowed, ancient sign. I did something like that at the sportsmens shows and got the shock of my life. I had these small boxes of five fishing flies each already matched up and made a big sign Show Special $2.79 a box or 3 for $10 I was always amazed how many folks handed me a ten-spot, took three boxes, and never said a word. ---
**Author:** ![kferr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/71e660/32.png) [@kferr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kferr)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2015, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-you-read-the-sign/710340/30 "2015-01-20T16:27:41Z")
This last weekend I was sitting in a pub near the doors. The entire front of the pub is glass so you can see everyone walking up to the doors. It has 2 side-by-side doors. The one on the left is always locked and has a sign saying ‘please use other door’. The left door has a big sign saying ‘PUSH’. I’d say that more than half the people pulled the left door, then tried pushing it, then pulled the right door before getting in. One woman yanked on the left door for a while, ignored the right door, then walked around the side of the building to try a completely different door that is never used. She gave up and left even though she could see people inside. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2015, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-you-read-the-sign/710340/31 "2015-01-20T16:30:35Z")
> [@kopek](#): > > I did something like that at the sportsmens shows and got the shock of my life. I had these small boxes of five fishing flies each already matched up and made a big sign > Show Special > $2.79 a box or > 3 for $10 > > I was always amazed how many folks handed me a ten-spot, took three boxes, and never said a word. I notice this occasionally at grocery stores with some items where there is a smaller unit and a larger unit. People assume they’re getting a better deal with the larger unit, but they’re not if you do the math. ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2015, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-you-read-the-sign/710340/32 "2015-01-20T17:01:28Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > Yep. > > Used to manage a Blockbuster Video. Perhaps you remember it? Not only was the inside of every Blockbuster Video in the country one of about 4 layouts, the New Release Wall was always - ALWAYS - a wall. Of New Releases. It was always at the very least the wall opposite the cashiers, and depending on the size of the store, covered some or all of the left and right hand walls as you walked to the back. The very walls themselves were painted or holding signs with foot high letters, subtly reading NEW RELEASES. > > If I had a dolla for every time someone with a three year rental history walked in and asked me where the New Releases are… I coulda bought Netflix and we’d still have Blockbuster Videos. Working at Blockbuster Video taught me that approximately 25% of humanity is unable to summon the cognitive fortitude to rent a video without screwing up somewhere. I am amazed every day that the trains keep running and the buildings don’t collapse. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2015, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-you-read-the-sign/710340/33 "2015-01-20T17:10:19Z")
> [@even\_sven](#): > > Working at Blockbuster Video taught me that approximately 25% of humanity is unable to summon the cognitive fortitude to rent a video without screwing up somewhere. I am amazed every day that the trains keep running and the buildings don’t collapse. Oh, but don’t you miss helping people count to 3 over and over? (Yes, tonight counts. So does tomorrow night. And the night after that. Then it’s due. Thankyouhaveaniceday.) ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2015, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-you-read-the-sign/710340/34 "2015-01-20T18:14:33Z")
> [@Squall Winds](#): > > So, today, I stood at the corner of 6th and Magnolia here in Fort Worthless holding my protest sign, as I regularly do. > > It truly amazes me how people miss signs like that. So, in the interest of getting to laugh and shake my head some more, I present this thread! Share some of y’all’s stories of seeing morons in public (or perhaps yourself/a family member/friend/loved one/et cetera) miss blatantly obvious signs–especially the really juicy ones involving surprises like wet cement. 😃 So, your point is that no one reads _signs_. This, altho a over-generalization- is surprisingly true. Then, you regularly spend time at the corner, holding your protest _sign._ :smack::dubious: ---
**Author:** ![DoggyDunnit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/5fc32e/32.png) [@DoggyDunnit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DoggyDunnit)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2015, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-you-read-the-sign/710340/35 "2015-01-20T18:50:47Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > So, your point is that no one reads _signs_. This, altho a over-generalization- is surprisingly true. > > Then, you regularly spend time at the corner, holding your protest _sign._ :smack::dubious: Ironically enough, my sign actually gets noticed. I frequently have people read, then stop to have a chat with me about my cause. But then again, it’s pretty hard to not notice my message. It’s not something easily missed. Either way, I started this thread for a bit of light-hearted fun, not to get insulted. Go easy on the new guy starting his first real thread. ---
**Author:** ![Fenris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fenris/32/498_2.png) [@Fenris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fenris)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2015, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-you-read-the-sign/710340/36 "2015-01-20T18:50:56Z")
> [@Squall Winds](#): > > So, today, I stood at the corner of 6th and Magnolia here in Fort Worthless holding my protest sign, as I regularly do. What are you protesting and do you do this for a living? Or is it a hobby? ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2015, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-you-read-the-sign/710340/37 "2015-01-20T19:17:38Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > So does it make you wonder if anyone is reading your protest sign? Did it make you wonder if you are wasting your time? > > Or am I the only one who made that connection? No, you are not the only one. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2015, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-you-read-the-sign/710340/38 "2015-01-20T19:23:33Z")
> [@Squall Winds](#): > > …Either way, I started this thread for a bit of light-hearted fun, not to get insulted. … Don’t give me that, you snotty-faced heap of parrot droppings! ---
**Author:** ![chizzuk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e36b37/32.png) [@chizzuk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chizzuk)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2015, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-you-read-the-sign/710340/39 "2015-01-20T19:27:01Z")
I live in the DC area and have been surprised in the past week when I discuss the smoke incident on the Yellow Line with friends, how many of them not only did not know how to evacuate a Metro car in a tunnel, but how many were not even aware that there were posters in every car explaining precisely this. The conversation would usually go like this: Me: I don’t get the freaking out about the third rail. The evacuation posters say to get out of the car on the side of the tunnel with the lights and that will keep you away from the third rail. If that’s not accurate, why is it even on the poster? Person: They have posters about that? Uh, yeah? I’ve lived here my whole life and those posters have been there as far back as I can remember. How can people have never read them? They’re right near the system maps and it’s not like there’s much else to look at in a subway car! ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2015, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-you-read-the-sign/710340/40 "2015-01-20T19:33:12Z")
> [@Squall Winds](#): > > Either way, I started this thread for a bit of light-hearted fun, not to get insulted. Go easy on the new guy starting his first real thread. No insult meant but trust me, if you think that’s a insult…stay out of the PIT. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-you-read-the-sign/710340.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-you-read-the-sign/710340.md?page=3)