I've read the story now. That's not where I got the idea, but it wasn't original to me. I heard it as a quite short joke from a friend in the mid 1970s, in a movie theatre while watching "Blazing Saddles," which is probably why the memory triggered with the 'no steenking topics" post. I don't read many (= none) Westerns, but I read a huge amount of science/speculative fiction.

I started reading the "Daily Science Fiction" site some time ago, starting with the first published and moving through the site month by month. Just checked my bookmarks and I'm up to mid October last year. I'll probably try to catch up tonight.

Thanks for the reminder.

"Wet Paint" signs are like a Schrödinger's box to me - is the paint really wet, or is it dry? You can't be certain until you actually touch it. Unless, of course, the sign has been there since last month, and you can pretty well depend on the paint being dry by now.
They are working on a big room next to the elevator on the first floor in my office building. The workers are uhm, slow. The room is usually empty. Last week they put up a sign that says "Please Do Not Enter". It's on the wall right next to the constantly open door. I didn't actually go in... but I did stick my toe in and grin. The room has new carpet and stinks to high heaven so I didn't really want to go in. I just had to see, since they said not to look. LOL
Skids, I guess I'm glad you got to laugh at our expense. Just wait until BK gets even with you! (Don't bother telling me not to watch, I'll ignore that, too.)

do not get involved, VM. BK is far too "innocent" for you to risk it.

<Thinks that should truly confuse as if VM does not act she will be following the instruction, but if she does she will be following the thread title and ignoring the request>

<permanently confused, so this is nothing new>

Will not get involved, will simply sit on the sidelines and cheer BK on!

DRY PAINT

Nope. Still don't believe it. That is why I drag my fingers down the hall walls. Drives my husband mad...

How about POLISH WAR MEMORIAL?

It's a sign on the A40 that makes me feel very tense every time I see it. I've never seen the actual war memorial but I'm sure it would require more polish that I would cheerfully posses.

Yes, that would be difficult to ignore...

The thing with a Wet Paint sign is that even if it has been sitting there for two weeks, when you touch it, you will invariably touch the one part that hasn't quite dried yet. The amount of paint still wet will reduce by half every week, but even in 5 years, when the amount of wet paint has become infinitesimally small, you will always touch it first.

On things such as Polish War Memorial, there's a segment in the news segment of Top Gear which highlights stupid signs. I'll try and find it, and post it here. Really goes to point out the idosyncracies of English.

I always agreed with my dog that 'wet paint' was an instruction rather than an advice!

I thought I better put this in the "please ignore" thread so as not to offend people who don't like Twitter.

London trends:

#KimberleyElegantTouch
#SometimesYouHaveTo
#middlefingerup
Philip Madoc
Happy St Piran's Day
Everyone Smokes
British Pie Week
Eddie Newton
Halo 4
No One Does It Better

Only number 7 - its one of life's many mysteries isn't it?

Brings to mind those "Back in 5 minutes' signs that one sees at various lunchtimes/toilet breaks/et al.

Five minutes from when?

Or alternatively, what is a '5 minutes' that a person can get into it and so return?

See all those unanswerable questions such as:" How high is up?"

It's 5 minutes from the point at which you are tired of waiting for them to return.

When god created the world what notice did he leave on the door when he left?

"Will the last to leave please turn out the lights" ?

If this proposition is true then it follows that when some entity enters the world they turn the ligho and it allstarts over again.

God is in a permanent 'Groundhog Day' situation.

No wonder she is moving in mysterious ways!



We alwys had a problem with the 'stock crossing ' signs that abound in Oz. As my father was involved in the improvement of breeds of cattle he mused on the possible/probable occurence of hybrids and/or crossbreeds, or, as an alternative, an infestation of catholic practices among the bovine population.

You think you have problems - we have Heavy Plant Crossing signs.

....which leads into those 'cross winds' signs.

Why don't they put up 'benign breezes' advices?

There used to be a sign on campus that said, "No Heavy Trucks Left" (meaning they could not turn left there). I laughed at that sign for weeks. I was sad when they took it down.

I have a lot of heavy plants at home, maybe I need one of your signs, geg?

Of course, they don't move around very much...

Oz is infested with road warning signs with the image of a kangaroo that are meant to indicate the presence of Skippys and their relatives, the Wobbalies, but I always feel that the signs are a warning that QANTAS is flying above and you are in peril of having an engine or baggage contaier casing falllling on you.

The fact that they have the best safety record of all airlines just means that the law of averages is going to apply with a bloody big bang when it comes.