# Signs or graffiti that give you pause... **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [February 28, 2013, 11:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/signs-or-graffiti-that-give-you-pause/651621 "2013-02-28T11:38:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Slypork](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9fc29f/32.png) [@Slypork](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slypork)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2013, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/signs-or-graffiti-that-give-you-pause/651621/61 "2013-03-01T18:20:55Z")
In 1984 I was in the US Army stationed in Germany. The day after the election I found the following written in the latrine stall: Here’s to four more years - Of the rich getting richer - Of abuse of the middle class - Of the erosion of our civil rights “Nobody ever went broke underestimating the intelligence of the American public.” H. L. Mencken That was pretty gutsy for an Army guy to post in the barracks. Nobody was supposed to bad mouth Reagan. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2013, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/signs-or-graffiti-that-give-you-pause/651621/62 "2013-03-01T19:01:57Z")
[Smoots](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smoot) is the ultimate in graffiti as far as I’m concerned. I used to live in a town called Ontario. That name was on a water tower in the center of town. Someone changed it to Blow Farto. It was that way for years. One night I was riding arouind with friends, and someone mentioned it. For the first time, it was funny. ---
**Author:** ![Rack-a-Bones](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rack-a-Bones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rack-a-Bones)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2013, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/signs-or-graffiti-that-give-you-pause/651621/63 "2013-03-01T19:05:34Z")
> [@Mona\_Lisa\_Simpson](#): > > Not graffiti, but I thought the scare quotes were hilarious so I took a picture. This was in 2011, when the Canadian dollar was trading well above the US dollar. > > [Shell lays down the law.](https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10150282642655991&set=a.457874525990.243406.750170990&type=3&theater) > [@Mona\_Lisa\_Simpson](#): > > And this one is actual bathroom wall graffiti. On the bathroom wall. Cracks me up every time. > [Octopus and Rabatman](https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10150961828875991&set=a.10150905818150991.464145.750170990&type=3&theater) Can’t view the FB links. ☹ I think you have to make the photo public for non friends to view them… ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2013, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/signs-or-graffiti-that-give-you-pause/651621/64 "2013-03-01T19:12:49Z")
I didn’t see it in person, but I quite enjoyed “GENTRIFY THIS!” complete with a giant cock and balls, spray painted on a hoarding in a rundown part of town. Pic: [http://www.artschoolvets.com/news/tag/platoon-culture-talk-graffiti-gentrification/](http://www.artschoolvets.com/news/tag/platoon-culture-talk-graffiti-gentrification/) ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2013, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/signs-or-graffiti-that-give-you-pause/651621/65 "2013-03-01T21:28:06Z")
Church sign in my neighborhood: God is the meaning of happiness. Now and forever. As an Andrew Lloyd Webber fan, it cracked me up. ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2013, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/signs-or-graffiti-that-give-you-pause/651621/66 "2013-03-01T22:47:15Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > Generally. Why? ---
**Author:** ![Noel\_Prosequi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b19c9b/32.png) [@Noel\_Prosequi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Noel_Prosequi)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2013, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/signs-or-graffiti-that-give-you-pause/651621/67 "2013-03-01T22:55:37Z")
There is a charming story in Sydney of an old alcoholic, illiterate sailor who one day passed a seaman’s mission, heard the music and the sermon, and was suddenly struck with the capacity to write one word - Eternity. He then made it his mission for several decades from the 1940s to the 1960s to go out at night and write the word “Eternity” - the name of God - using chalk and a distinctive laborious copperplate handwriting style, on walls and footpaths all around Sydney on as many surfaces as he could. For years, people noted the words, but it was a complete mystery who was doing this until Arthur Stace was identified as the author in the 1960s. It is estimated that he wrote the word something like half a million times. People became quite fond of discovering the quirky presence of the word as they moved around the city. That is why, in the fireworks display in Sydney for the turn of the millennium in 2000 (yes, I know-let it go) the centrepiece of the display was the word written in Stace’s distinctive style in fireworks on [Sydney](https://www.google.com.au/search?q=harbour+bridge+eternity&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en-gb&client=safari#biv=i%7C0%3Bd%7CZJnq_Rse_Kxo1M%3A) Harbour Bridge. ---
**Author:** ![dwyr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dwyr/32/363_2.png) [@dwyr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dwyr)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2013, 5:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/signs-or-graffiti-that-give-you-pause/651621/68 "2013-03-02T05:57:09Z")
The [Florence water tower](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florence_Y'all_Water_Tower) always attracts attention. ---
**Author:** ![Ale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@Ale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ale)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2013, 8:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/signs-or-graffiti-that-give-you-pause/651621/69 "2013-03-02T08:13:59Z")
Once I saw a sticker, a cat caricature, with a little mustache and right arm sticking up, under it “Heil Kitty” ---
**Author:** ![Face\_Intentionally\_Left\_Blank](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/face_intentionally_left_blank/32/288_2.png) [@Face\_Intentionally\_Left\_Blank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Face_Intentionally_Left_Blank)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2013, 8:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/signs-or-graffiti-that-give-you-pause/651621/70 "2013-03-02T08:48:10Z")
> [@dwyr](#): > > The [Florence water tower](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florence_Y'all_Water_Tower) always attracts attention. Hey, I’ve driven past that several times. Now I feel like I missed out by not stopping at the mall, or joining in on the Labor Day festivities. Yes, my life is that dull. ---
**Author:** ![Molesworth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ee7513/32.png) [@Molesworth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Molesworth)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2013, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/signs-or-graffiti-that-give-you-pause/651621/71 "2013-03-02T13:27:37Z")
Winding roads in Australia sometimes have a sign reading ‘Do not overtake unless safe’. I like the idea that elsewhere, you can overtake whether it’s safe or not. ---
**Author:** ![Dallas\_Jones](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dallas_jones/32/3277_2.png) [@Dallas\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dallas_Jones)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2013, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/signs-or-graffiti-that-give-you-pause/651621/72 "2013-03-03T04:08:19Z")
You may have seen this sign. In Oregon there are two towns called Oregon City and Boring. Which leads to this actual exit sign from Hwy 212: [http://www.google.com/search?q=boring+oregon+city+sign&hl=en&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=s8syUbjpLOLmyQGC\_YDYAg&sqi=2&ved=0CGUQsAQ&biw=1920&bih=934#imgrc=FrUezhK\_NpAtVM%3A%3B5tUBjSNqaD6tDM%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Ffarm1.static.flickr.com%252F49%252F185203595\_ce22e2fbe7.jpg%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fflickeflu.com%252Fset%252F72157600043790446%3B500%3B375](http://www.google.com/search?q=boring+oregon+city+sign&hl=en&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=s8syUbjpLOLmyQGC_YDYAg&sqi=2&ved=0CGUQsAQ&biw=1920&bih=934#imgrc=FrUezhK_NpAtVM%3A%3B5tUBjSNqaD6tDM%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Ffarm1.static.flickr.com%252F49%252F185203595_ce22e2fbe7.jpg%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fflickeflu.com%252Fset%252F72157600043790446%3B500%3B375) ---
**Author:** ![Rack-a-Bones](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rack-a-Bones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rack-a-Bones)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2013, 6:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/signs-or-graffiti-that-give-you-pause/651621/73 "2013-03-03T06:23:34Z")
> [@Dallas\_Jones](#): > > You may have seen this sign. In Oregon there are two towns called Oregon City and Boring. Which leads to this actual exit sign from Hwy 212: > > [boring oregon city sign - Google Search](http://www.google.com/search?q=boring+oregon+city+sign&hl=en&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=s8syUbjpLOLmyQGC_YDYAg&sqi=2&ved=0CGUQsAQ&biw=1920&bih=934#imgrc=FrUezhK_NpAtVM%3A%3B5tUBjSNqaD6tDM%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Ffarm1.static.flickr.com%252F49%252F185203595_ce22e2fbe7.jpg%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fflickeflu.com%252Fset%252F72157600043790446%3B500%3B375) I’ve seen that sign many times. It never occurred to me that some people would find that combo amusing. To me it just means I’m almost home. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Aspidistra](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspidistra/32/3894_2.png) [@Aspidistra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspidistra)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2013, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/signs-or-graffiti-that-give-you-pause/651621/74 "2013-03-03T13:13:37Z")
I’m very fond of this one, which I’ve seen in numerous places: [http://wordsallaround.blogspot.com.au/2009/11/great-use-of-two-letters-of-alphabet-to.html](http://wordsallaround.blogspot.com.au/2009/11/great-use-of-two-letters-of-alphabet-to.html) ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2013, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/signs-or-graffiti-that-give-you-pause/651621/75 "2013-03-03T14:24:35Z")
A new one in our neighborhood culvert. " Bill Cosby " Who knows…maybe the real Bill Cosby actually does get his kicks late at night with a can of spray paint thinking “those fools will never think it actually WAS me and the joke will be on them bwwwwaaahaaahaaa” ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2013, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/signs-or-graffiti-that-give-you-pause/651621/76 "2013-03-03T15:56:19Z")
I thought of this thread this afternoon when I drove past a sign outside a local pub advertising an “Evening of Clairvoyance”. The temptation to print out and paste onto it a banner reading “Cancelled due to unforeseen circumstances” is almost irresistible. ---
**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:** [March 3, 2013, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/signs-or-graffiti-that-give-you-pause/651621/77 "2013-03-03T18:52:27Z")
> [@Colophon](#): > > I thought of this thread this afternoon when I drove past a sign outside a local pub advertising an “Evening of Clairvoyance”. The temptation to print out and paste onto it a banner reading “Cancelled due to unforeseen circumstances” is almost irresistible. Do it! Do it! Do it! ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2013, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/signs-or-graffiti-that-give-you-pause/651621/78 "2013-03-03T20:18:04Z")
> [@SpazCat](#): > > Do it! Do it! Do it! And take a picture and post it! ---
**Author:** ![madetea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/94ad74/32.png) [@madetea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madetea)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2013, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/signs-or-graffiti-that-give-you-pause/651621/79 "2013-03-03T23:17:43Z")
I like the story of the guy who defaced the poster for The Usual Suspects with “Keyser Söze”, and an arrow to the location of the appropriate cast member. ---
**Author:** ![slightly\_askew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d07c76/32.png) [@slightly\_askew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slightly_askew)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2013, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/signs-or-graffiti-that-give-you-pause/651621/80 "2013-03-04T16:57:41Z")
Not a sign per se, but I saw a license plate last week that was “BLU BYU”. I wasn’t sure if the owner of the vehicle was attesting to his speeding or his relations with the co-ed population of a certain institution of higher learning in Salt Lake City. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/signs-or-graffiti-that-give-you-pause/651621.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/signs-or-graffiti-that-give-you-pause/651621.md?page=5)