# Question for Non-Americans - Road signs

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-non-americans-road-signs/741819>\
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion\
**Created:** [December 31, 2015, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-non-americans-road-signs/741819 "2015-12-31T15:14:54Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 3

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**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\
**Post date:** [January 3, 2016, 10:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-non-americans-road-signs/741819/41 "2016-01-03T10:48:03Z")

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> [@JKellyMap](#):
>
> For example, “du Midi” connects Paris with southeastern France, known as “le Midi” (“Noonland,” for its associations with warmth.)

I know you later rectify about that one being in the SW, but in any case _le midi_ (noon) happens to be the time when the Sun is in the South, if you’re in the Northern hemisphere. The origin of the term is not heat but astronomy.

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**Author:** ![Ellecram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellecram/32/18948_2.png) [@Ellecram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellecram)\
**Post date:** [February 8, 2016, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-non-americans-road-signs/741819/42 "2016-02-08T04:39:36Z")

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> [@JKellyMap](#):
>
> In the US at least, this sometimes leads to tiny towns becoming absurdly prominent, well-known locations, simply because they happen to be where two interstate highways intersect. For example, Albert Lea, Minnesota is a rural village in the middle of nowhere, but because two important interstates happen to cross there, it serves as a “control city” for signage, and a stranger passing through the region might assume it’s a big city.
> 
> This is analogous to subway (metro) systems in many cities. Typically, each “line” is given a number or a color, or both. The platform for the DIRECTION of the trains is often marked by the last station stop in that direction. Often, this is located at (and named for) some small, unimportant neighborhood or town near the edge of the city…but it looms large in the “mental map” of area residents, because of the metro signage.

Interesting! This reminds me of Breezewood in southern Pennsylvania. It’s a major hub for connecting roads that lead to Washington DC and Baltimore. Mostly just a collection of gas/convenience stores, hotels and restaurants. Absurdly prominent fits this place.

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**Author:** ![Desert\_Nomad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desert_nomad/32/177_2.png) [@Desert\_Nomad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Desert_Nomad)\
**Post date:** [February 8, 2016, 4:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-non-americans-road-signs/741819/43 "2016-02-08T04:58:04Z")

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Lots of places in the Third World do not name or number roads. Major highways in Sudan for example are numbered (even if they are not paved in some cases), but lots are not labeled at all and sometimes major forks in the roads have no signs at all.

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