The universe is full of signs and synchronicities. If you’re looking for a sign to stop working and scroll social media instead, you’ve come to the right place. Signs serve several purposes. They’re meant to communicate or convey information, and guide us to make decisions. But sometimes they surprise us. And all we can do is stop. Stare. And scratch our heads.
Bored Panda recently came across a very funny Facebook group called Strange, Stupid, Or Silly Signs. You guessed it. They share the best of the worst signs spotted around the world. With over 900,000 members, there’s no shortage of signs to leave you shook. Or make you smile. Keep scrolling for our top picks and don’t forget to upvote your favorites.
#1
Image credits: Jerry N Susan Sanslow
#2
Image credits: Jun Atadero
#3
Image credits: Neal J. Pollock
Not all signs are straightforward. Some can lead us down a path of side-splitting laughter. Others can create chaos and confusion. Sometimes signs are meant to be funny. Sometimes their strangeness takes us by surprise. There are times we might have to read twice, or thrice to understand what’s being (attempted to be) said. Have you seen one that you just had to take a snap of? I know I have. Wait. Let me check my Instagram…
#4
Image credits: Anonymous participant
#5
Image credits: Rebecca Urie
#6
Image credits: Jason O'Brien
If you’ve been to Thailand, you might have seen what the locals refer to as “songthaews”. They’re basically pick-up trucks that have been adapted into passenger transport. Once, while traveling the islands, I got into the back of one. After carefully placing my suitcase at my feet, I looked up to the window separating the driver from us passengers. Right there in big, bright orange letters were the words, “Please luggage before smoothing out of the car.” Say what? I still haven’t figured that one out.
#7
Image credits: Christian Encinas Amat
#8
Image credits: Phillip Rayson
#9
Image credits: Nisar Khokhar
I’d like to believe the Thailand songthaew sign was a case of lost in translation. And it probably was. But sometimes signs are deliberately designed to take you on a detour to ‘death by laughter’. There’s a bumper sticker, sold internationally, that reads “Honk if you love Jesus. Text if you want to meet him.” It’s a clever campaign to highlight the dangers of texting while driving.
In America, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) says driving at 55 mph while sending or reading a text for five seconds is the same as driving an entire length of a football field with your eyes shut. And that 410 people died in accidents in 2021, because of texting and driving. That’s more than one death a day.
#10
Image credits: Roger Leslie
#11
Image credits: Neal J. Pollock
#12
Image credits: Rhonda Crouse
And did you see the “Do your duty. Buckle that booty” sign while scrolling through this list? It was part of another witty road safety campaign that had some drivers in stitches. CBS reported the brains behind the highway billboard was someone called Sam Cole, who got clever and creative while working with the Colorado Department of Transportation. Cole designed several similar signs to help the department raise road safety awareness in a time of need.
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Image credits: Philip Anderson
#14
Image credits: Catherine Lee Rodriguez
#15
Image credits: Janet Lawrence
Ironically, some of the funny road safety signs are a danger themselves. If you like having a good chuckle while reading signs and driving in America, enjoy it while it lasts. As the LA Times reported, “Buckle up, windshields hurt” or “We’ll be blunt, don’t drive high” could soon be a thing of the past.
The Federal Highway Administration (FHA) announced earlier this year that it would be banning all humorous highway signs by 2026. The agency released this new rule book for signs and other traffic control device regulations. It is getting rid of overhead signs with “obscure meaning, references to popular culture, that are intended to be humorous”. The FHA says funny signs could be misinterpreted and are a dangerous distraction to drivers. It noted that road signs should communicate “simple, direct, brief, legible, and clear” messages.
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Image credits: Will Smith
#17
Image credits: Jason O'Brien
#18
Image credits: Debbie Gelormine
The debate over side-splitting road signs got heated in 2022, after the New Jersey Department of Transportation rolled out a campaign featuring funny messaging for motorists. Some were so hilarious that the Federal Highway Administration tweeted a warning not to take pictures of them while driving. Soon after, the FHA told New Jersey to ‘cease and desist’. But the state’s senator wrote to the agency, saying other states were doing the same. And so began a blanket nationwide ban, begging drivers to keep their eyes on the road.
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Image credits: Jerry Bizot
#20
Image credits: Jim Carter
#21
Image credits: Jeff Wilson
A lot more goes into signage than meets the eye. Or so it should be. The International Sign Association (ISA) has members around the world. They’re experts in the signage, graphics and visual communications industry. According to their website, “Successful signage involves more than just creating an attractive arrangement of logos and slogans.” Some of the important things to take into consideration are the materials used, lighting available, placement, typography and size of the sign elements.
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Image credits: Jennifer Bailey
#23
Image credits: Jim Link
#24
Image credits: Catherine Lee Rodriguez
The ISA advises “How well a sign works for your business depends in large part on how easy it is for people driving or walking by to see and read it. For maximum readability a sign must be detectable, conspicuous, legible and comprehensible.” And we really wish the designers of some of these signs had referred to the ISA site before blindly going about their business.
Have you spotted any strange, silly or downright stupid signs in your ‘hood? We’d love to hear about them and maybe even have a laugh. Let us know in the comments. And if you enjoyed these pics, see here, and here, and here, for more strange, silly, stupid and funny signs.
#25
Image credits: David Nields
#26
Image credits: Sarah Morris
#27
Image credits: Jacob Hall
The ISA advised “How well a sign works for your business depends in large part on how easy it is for people driving or walking by to see and read it. For maximum readability a sign must be detectable, conspicuous, legible and comprehensible.” And we really wish the designers of some of these signs had referred to the ISA site before blindly going about their business.
Have you spotted any strange, silly or downright stupid signs in your hood? We’d love to hear about them and maybe even have a laugh. Let us know in the comments.
#28
Image credits: Amber Fahrenholtz
#29
Image credits: Mike Anthony
#30
Image credits: Tamara Lynn Earhart
#31
Image credits: Smith Jamie
#32
Image credits: Dotty Jo Kruse VanPelt
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Image credits: Greg Nield
#34
Image credits: Darren Ho
#35
Image credits: Colleen Learn
#36
Image credits: Gibson Harvey
#37
Image credits: Darren Ho
#38
Image credits: Jim Rose Circus
#39
Image credits: Dotty Jo Kruse VanPelt
#40
Image credits: Steven Acree
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Image credits: Dotty Jo Kruse VanPelt
#42
Image credits: Melissa Brown
#43
Image credits: Todd Charlick
#44
Image credits: Steven Acree
#45
Image credits: Darcy Matthews
#46
Image credits: Michelle Beaty Petterson
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Image credits: Rockie Jackson
#48
Image credits: John Grant
#49
Image credits: Tubby tank
#50
Image credits: Robert Hines