Category:
Signage

Special Driver Gloves for Signalling

Full patent here.



Posted By: Paul - Sat Mar 02, 2024 - Comments (0)
Category: Inventions, Patents, Signage, 1920s, Cars

Nudist Crossing Ahead

1965: The police ordered Bernard Patenaude to taken down his "Warning, nudist crossing ahead" sign, claiming that it was an illegal form of traffic regulation. (If that's so, wouldn't those "Slow, children at play" signs found all over the place also, technically, be illegal?)

Hartford Courant - Sep 14, 1965



Alliance (Neb.) Daily Times Herald - Nov 2, 1965


Posted By: Alex - Thu Jul 27, 2023 - Comments (0)
Category: Signage, Nudism and Nudists, 1960s

Welcome To Gila Bend

I've driven through the small town of Gila Bend many times, because it's on the road between Phoenix and San Diego which I drive fairly often. But I only recently realized that it has a weird welcome sign: "Gila Bend welcomes you. Home of 1917 friendly people and 5 old crabs."

The 5 old crabs are listed: Earl Carpenter, Clyde Kreeger, Scott Smith, Peggy Perry, and Pat Lauderdale.

From Wikipedia:

Gila Bend enjoys a minor notability among tourists and aficionados of roadside attractions. Besides the quirky welcome sign, the town boasts several roadside sculptures and the Space Age Lodge motel and restaurant (opened in 1963), named for its "Space Age" themed architecture and decor.

Posted By: Alex - Sun Mar 12, 2023 - Comments (4)
Category: Signage, Billboards

Stinker Station Signs

Stinker Stations were (and still are) a chain of gas stations in Idaho. Their corporate symbol was a skunk. During the 1950s they adopted an oddball advertising campaign which involved posting yellow signs with strange messages along the side of roads. Most of the signs were removed after the passage of the Highway Beautification Act in 1965.

More info: Vintage Everyday







Posted By: Alex - Mon Mar 08, 2021 - Comments (3)
Category: Signage, Billboards, Advertising, 1950s, 1960s

All Are Welcome

There's been controversy recently in the town of Groton, Massachusetts over eight stone markers that were installed on roads leading into the town engraved with the phrase "Town of Groton — All Are Welcome."

Some citizens expressed concern that the phrase might be taken literally, and that "those with a criminal or terrorist background" might feel they were being invited in. Others worried that it was some kind of veiled political message, implying the town intended to become a sanctuary city for immigrants and refugees. There was a suggestion that the markers be replaced with ones that simply said 'Welcome.'

It looks like the critics have been silenced for now and the stone markers will remain where they are.

More info: Boston Magazine

Posted By: Alex - Thu Oct 26, 2017 - Comments (12)
Category: Signage

Cats Eyes Removed

The Suffolk County Council has decided to get rid of the road signs that warned motorists, "Cats Eyes Removed." Too many people, especially tourists, thought the signs were warning of the imminent blinding of felines, instead of referring to the reflective road markers known as 'cats eyes.'

The new signs will read, 'Caution - Road Studs Removed.' Though locals are complaining about that because none of them have ever heard of a 'road stud.'

More info: express.co.uk



Another potentially confusing UK sign — the ones that warn of 'Humped Zebra Crossing.'

via Flickr

Posted By: Alex - Mon Aug 21, 2017 - Comments (4)
Category: Signage

Yuma Swastika Bridge

I spent New Year's Day in Yuma, Arizona, where I had a chance to see a local oddity — the Swastika Bridge, which can be found out in the desert just north of the city.

According to local legend, the swastikas were carved into the bridge by German POWs held nearby during WWII. Another story has it that the bridge was designed by the Nazis and shipped to Arizona from Germany.

The reality is that the bridge was built in 1907 by the U.S. Reclamation Service. The engineers decorated it with swastikas after seeing similarly designed and decorated bridges during a trip to India.

The bridge was part of the larger effort to dam the Colorado River and create an agricultural oasis around Yuma.

More info at the Yuma Sun or smoter.com.

And you can find a lot of other examples of the pre-Nazi use of swastikas in American culture at the American Swastika blog.



Posted By: Alex - Sat Jan 07, 2017 - Comments (3)
Category: Buildings and Other Structures, Evil, Signage

Mystery Illustration 28

image

In what industry or occupation is this a professional signal?

The answer is here.

Posted By: Paul - Sat Aug 20, 2016 - Comments (4)
Category: Signage, 1930s

License Plates for Strollers

Back in 2006, Jill Starishevsky started a business selling license plates for strollers. The idea was that when your nanny was out with the baby in the stroller, people could anonymously report on her behavior (whether good or bad) via the website, HowsMyNanny.com, listed on the plate. So kinda like those "How's my driving?" signs on the back of trucks.

Her site is no longer active. It lasted until 2009, and has now been replaced by a spam site. But the original site is preserved on the Web Archive.

I see two problems with her business plan. First, her customer base was limited to people with nannies. And second, I don't think the purpose of the license plate would have been evident to your average member of the public.

HowsMyNanny.com screenshot

Posted By: Alex - Fri May 06, 2016 - Comments (4)
Category: Signage, Babies and Toddlers

Bond Clothing Sign, NYC

image

image

The Wikipedia entry tells us:

Between 1948 and 1954, Bond Clothes operated a massive sign on the east side block of Broadway between 44th and 45th streets in New York's Times Square. The sign had nearly 2 miles of neon and included two 7-story-tall nude figures, a man and a woman, as bookends. Between the nude figures, there was a 27-foot-high (8.2 m) and 132-foot-wide (40 m) waterfall with 50,000 gallons of recirculated water. Beneath the waterfall was a 278-foot-long (85 m) zipper sign with scrolling messages. The Bond zipper was made up of more than 20,000 light bulbs. Above the waterfall was a digital clock with the wording "Every Hour 3,490 People Buy at Bond."[7] Some of the sign remained in place to advertise the Bond Stores location until the stores closure in 1977.


Posted By: Paul - Mon Sep 28, 2015 - Comments (3)
Category: Beauty, Ugliness and Other Aesthetic Issues, Signage, 1940s, 1950s

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Alex is the creator and curator of the Museum of Hoaxes. He's also the author of various weird, non-fiction, science-themed books such as Elephants on Acid and Psychedelic Apes.

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