How Was This Approved?” 30+ of the Most Absurd Signs

This article appeared in Notfries and has been published here with permission.

These Signs Are Sure to Make You Laugh Out Loud

Signs are pretty essential. They give you important information about where to turn, where to park, and which footbridge to take. But sometimes, signs are not just a way of passing along information. Sometimes, they’re baffling,  sometimes, they’re humorous digs, and at times they’re outright absurd. Here are some signs that will make you scratch your head and wonder how anyone ever agreed to put them up.

Mosquito Attack

There’s barely anything scarier than a sign that says that Jumanji comes to life here. Yes, it’s a bit of an exaggeration, but that’s the only thing that comes to mind, thanks to this sign at an Alaskan road.

Mosquito Attack

The sign depicts what seems to be a giant mosquito flying away with a person. We can’t say exactly what it’s trying to say, but it does get the overall message across — be careful.

The Lost Cat

Losing a pet can be a difficult time for a loving owner. Sometimes, they luck out and find amazing photos they can use on their posters. They put up proper details, and then place that information everywhere they can.

The Lost Cat

But sometimes, people need to go farther. This individual’s idea of a lost poster might need to be more effective. It could be anything from a Persian cat to one who likes fishing for food down the street.

A Fair Warning

Do you know those small-town movies where the big and slick city-goers ignore a well-written warning telling them not to do something and end up paying for it dearly? Well, if only they had learned their lessons 20 movies ago!

A Fair Warning

This small town also warns newcomers about what not to do when they get there. The only question is, why not?

The Exact Speed Limit

Signs with numbers on them are obviously extremely common as they help us know what the speed limit on a certain road is. While we’re used to seeing whole numbers, sometimes, having strange numbers can do wonders for your purpose.

The Exact Speed Limit

This particular person has laid down the law regarding the speed limit, and it’s an off 9 1/2. Not 9, not 10, but 9 1/2. It could only have gotten better if the numbers had been 9 3/4.

Fish for Hire

The correct wording and spacing can make all the difference when it comes to signs on the road giving you a message, whether it’s a speed limit sign or one outside a restaurant.

Fish for Hire

This particular one decided to catch two fish with one sign but ended up with a funny and jumbled-up one! You eventually come to the correct conclusion, but it’s fun to pretend that the restaurant is hiring fish sandwiches for work.

An Ork Problem

Someone posted this particular sign on the internet, much to the amusement of fellow internet users. According to him, his father passed this “Utility Work Ahead” sign missing a W.

An Ork Problem

Seeing the sign change the meaning entirely, the father took the “ork” too seriously and added a quick photo of an ork at work to the picture. This ork seems to be ready to do some digging.

Approval Rescinded

It sometimes takes work to wrap our heads around how a particular board and message ever got approved. This specific sign on the road is an excellent example of a time when the proof checker could have done their job better.

Approval Rescinded

It’s challenging to decipher the exact message of this sign. We know it’s something to do with buying houses fast, but the first word continues to elude our understanding.

Preparing for Storm

In a town in Great Britain, the warning of impending snow sent people to the market for some mass buying of products to stock up.

Preparing for Storm

The grocer, seeing the possible trouble, decided to put up this instructional sheet so that everybody gets a fair share of the food on their shopping spree. His customers might be a bit annoyed at this but at least no one will be lacking.

Just a Word

We all know that some words have the power to make people change their course. Such words can include, “please,” “chocolate,” and “stop!”

Just a Word

Another word is “no.” This sign is a brief reply to any question anyone can ask here! Can you park here? No. Is this a building? No. Can you go in? No. And so on.

A Speed Hump

Not many people know that alongside the usual rigorous speed bumps used to keep speedy drivers in check, there are also speed humps.

A Speed Hump

These little humps ensure that the driver’s speed slows so everybody is safe and sound. With the drawing of a car, this sign was found in a zoo in California. The zoo, it turns out, is full of humps for your vehicles and the humps of the animals.

Broken Bathrooms

Customers are only sometimes on their best behaviour when they go out to places. This particular establishment suffered quite some damage, thanks to a few customers.

Broken Bathrooms

Sadly, their damages weren’t limited to an area that could be closed off to the public but to a pretty vital area. The establishment finally decided to lay the blame where it rightly was and printed a sign for everybody to read.

A Haircut for Your Eyes

This little salon needed to get its message on the poster about its services. The Ivy’s Magic Hair Salon & Boutique gives you a lot of benefits, like hair treatments and makeup, but their most unique service is the one for the eye.

A Haircut for Your Eyes

If their poster is to be believed, they will also give your eyelashes a stylish trim. Either it’s a big misprint, or it’s best to stay away from this salon.

Driving on Water

You always have to be careful while driving on a bridge. It’s extra important there to not speed up and stick to your lane. Even the stop signs say this, but sometimes they get a little confused.

Driving on Water

This stop sign at a bridge has an image of a cycle and a car. Funny part? For some reason, the car seems to be pointed toward the river instead of the road.

Ancient Roadways

People are never satisfied with what is present. Instead, we’re always searching for something elusive and magical. That could be why this sign is telling us that a dinosaur is about to cross the road.

Ancient Roadways

Now we know that if the Ice Age is ever reversed and dinosaurs do make an appearance, there are signs to guide them in the right direction and help them follow correct road safety measures.

Riding a Rainbow

It’s easy to mistake signs for being something that they’re not. This one sign on a trail shows a person on a bike going over a speed bump, but it looks like it’s of a person riding a rainbow.

Riding a Rainbow

It’s probably a leprechaun who dared to undertake this feat in the search for a pot of gold. Who else would ride the seven-colored curve to the bottom?

A Heely Problem

All the ladies know that there are better ideas than wearing your heels in certain places. For example, any area with bars on the ground or a sandy beach is a big no-no for your beloved shoes.

A Heely Problem

This sign is a boon, telling them upfront that this area is not safe for heels. If only more places had such a disclaimer, many beautiful shoes would have been saved from breaking.

Run for Your Cake

Cakes are delicious, impressive, and finger-licking good! Funnel cakes are so good that they attract people around you, and it turns out even the seagulls want a piece of it!

Run for Your Cake

This shop near a beach selling funnel cakes has warned its patrons that if a seagull swoops down and eats their funnel cake, it’s not the shop’s fault. So, if you’re ever here eating a piece of this cake, be careful of the birds circling you.

Thief Alert

There are many ways to alert people to possible thievery in an area. You can just put up a sign that says ‘keep an eye on your belongings,’ but these options were too tame for this person!

Thief Alert

For this particular message, this sign shows a cartoon bad guy sneaking toward a car — a brilliant, albeit funky little way to let people know to be careful. It’s kind of cute, too.

A Confidence Boost

There are some uplifting signs whose fundamental aim is to help you do better and be better. One such sign is this one which is a confidence booster wrapped up in a joke.

A Confidence Boost

After all, imagining our younger selves feeling invincible in a superhero shirt is a great way to get a little pep into our step. As adults, we need to recapture the feeling.

Taped Over

A person on the internet came across the sign of a cow and was extremely puzzled as to why somebody had added a strip of tape right across its midriff. However, his question was soon answered when he walked a little further.

Taped Over

He came across a field of cows with; you guessed it, a tape-like white strip in their midriff. It’s hard to miss the likeness of the cow in real life and the sign!

An Owner’s Edict

Most shops have an open time and a more or less fixed closing. This is for the customers and also the shopkeeper to have a routine. But, this store or “small museum” follows different rules.

An Owner’s Edict

The owner has put up a sign outside proclaiming that the store is open when he is up and closed when he goes to sleep. He’s also warned that the store will remain closed the days he’s had enough.

An Influential Deal

We all know influencers are ruling the world with their followers and fans! These people love to grab those PR packages and free things for a few mentions.

An Influential Deal

However, this ice cream truck owner has had it with giving away free things. So he made a sign that influencers pay double for ice cream. He clarified that a 4$ item wasn’t worth giving away for free, and if influencers came to his door, he would charge them eight bucks.

Ring the Bell

We all know that missing the delivery person when eagerly awaiting a parcel can be pretty disheartening. But, what about when it’s happening over and over, even when you’re home?

Ring the Bell

This person decided to take action and posted a sign at his door for the delivery people explaining what a doorbell is and how it’s supposed to be used. Harsh but effective.

The Do-Over

We were all once young and wild and brimming with ideas about what could be and what we should do. Slowly, as days turn into years and decades, we’re left with many what-ifs in our heads.

The Do-Over

This sign at a retirement community is a funny take on being young, but it does get one thing right. Nobody goes through life only doing the right thing, and most decisions you make in your early years are probably not your smartest ones.

A Cab Ride

This very upfront and transparent cab driver decided to let his passengers know in the beginning what he carried. However, passengers probably got a lot more than they bargained for.

A Cab Ride

Along with some change, some cabbages (yes, the vegetable), and some Spice Girls for the mood, the driver also seems to be carrying some emotional baggage.

Parking Outside

Fast-food Restaurants often have a signboard outside their premises which they use to run offers or relay essential messages. For this particular Arby’s, it became a form of ironic communication.

Parking Outside

After a car drove through an Arby’s franchise, the restaurant cheekily took to getting the message of parking outside through their signage. This is how to turn all publicity into a good and funny one!

Dog Library

Libraries (incredibly informal ones on street corners) have a straightforward rule — you take a book, and you leave a book. This helps in circulating the books from one reader to another without losing the collection.

Dog Library

Similarly, some person has come up with this very clever dog library where the rule is for each stick you take; you put one back. Hopefully, even if the dogs aren’t able to get this, their owners follow through and give a stick back.

Post or Post?

Posts now have taken on a new life. They’re what the world does; when people post things on social media, the whole world takes notice.

Post or Post?

However, once upon a time, before Facebook posts, a wooden beam with an electrical wire had the honor of being a post! Some clever person had the idea to make a joke out of the similarity of names and added this sign.

No Littering

Sometimes, an explicit request doesn’t get heeded, and your problem persists. The Noccalula Falls Park in Alabama was fed up with the people coming there and littering everywhere, so they decided to take some action to get through to them.

No Littering

They put up this very clever sign that calls people out for littering and lists all the wild and (quite frankly) sad reasons why they would want to do so.

Hide and Seek

Playing in corn mazes is fun to pass the time at any fair. They’re chaotic and kind of scary, but they’re a lot of fun — as long as you’re with somebody.

Hide and Seek

This corn maze organizer decided to poke fun at the public, who panic when they find themselves lost in the yellow-green fields, cheekily stating that every Thursday is “rescue day.” Not only that, they even add that only two-thirds of people have recovered. Cheeky and spooky!

A Polite Gesture

It doesn’t cost anything to be polite, that’s true! But sometimes, it even pays to be nice. This one local store decided that being nice should be rewarded.

A Polite Gesture

On their board, they put up the prices for coffee. The catch? The same coffee is served at different prices, depending on how polite the customer is! A please here will save you $2!

A Fitting Name

Take a person to the top of a mountain and they’re bound to make some exclamation sound at the view. So, this particular viewpoint at the Grand Canyon decided to go with it, and now it’s named the Ooh Aah Point.

A Fitting Name

We’re pretty sure that every time somebody pops by, the first sounds out of their mouth are something similar to the name!

Want Vs. Needs

We all know that what you want and need may not always be the same. They might even look like they come from different planets altogether.

Want Vs. Needs

This doughnut shop made a lovely joke highlighting the difference between wanting to have abs and needing to eat donuts! After all, workouts might keep the body healthy, but a donut will keep the heart happy.

A Little Jazzy

Who says that caution signs have to be boring? Indeed not this Moxy Nashville Hotel, where a warning sign hasn’t lost any flair!

A Little Jazzy

For their “floor’s wet caution” sign, the hotel added a little pizzazz with the cartoon of a person falling with his jazz hands thrown in the air. Who says that the oomph factor can’t be added to a wet tumble?

Morning Brew

Every morning when someone gets up, there are two things that they can’t escape — a great big yawn and a wish for coffee. This particular sign at a coffee shop decided to take a cheeky dig!

Morning Brew

According to them, a yawn is nothing but a silent scream for coffee. We give it 10/10 points, as the only thing that can get that yawn to quit is coffee.

King Vs. Clown

The rivalry between Mcdonald’s and Burger King is a legendary one. The two fast-food joints love to take digs at each other, online and offline!

King Vs. Clown

This was one of the most classic cases of their feud when Burger King asked people why they would work with a clown (McDonald’s mascot) when they could work with the king! The best part about this rivalry is that it’s tasteful, sarcastic, and always funny.

Two in One

This diner at a gas station decided to make the best of its usually unwanted location and put up a sign that tells a customer all they can do there.

Two in One

Named Pump’n Diner, this sign proclaims that you can eat and get gas at this place! Hopefully, the gas is only the kind you put in your car, not your stomach.

Really Not a Door

Here’s a perfect example of why signs are worth the few minutes it takes to read them. This one, for example, makes sure that you don’t make a fool of yourself by attempting to enter here.

Really Not a Door

Those that bothered to read the sign will know that the entrance to this room is just a little way away. That’s apparently really important because this really looks like a door.

Joke of the Day

Who doesn’t love a silly dad joke to brighten up their day? The person in charge of this sign decided to take that to heart and change it to a different funny message every few days.

Joke of the Day

After seeing these great jokes, we’re sure that the residents around Westwood Hills can’t stop laughing every time they pass by this hilarious sign. This might not be informative, but it is entertaining!

Saving Time

More than the actual shopping, some people love to spend their time at the store haggling prices. That’s extra true with antique and second-hand stores where there’s usually a lot more wiggle room when it comes to the price.

Saving Time

It looks like this antiques store owner has had enough of those people, though. So, instead of constantly arguing and defending their prices, they decided to put up this sign that will hopefully deter people from haggling while still making them smile.

You Have Been Warned

Taking care of a dog is a big responsibility, and not just when it comes to the dog’s needs. There’s also a social responsibility to make sure your dog doesn’t harm anyone.

You Have Been Warned

That’s why we have “beware of dog” signs.  This one, though, decided to be extra cheeky by warning us not just of the dog in the house, but also of the fishy cat that lives here.

Too Late

Usually, warning signs are placed somewhere before the actual danger to make sure that we have enough time to change our actions and stay safe. Because, obviously, having the sign come after the hazard is pretty useless.

Too Late

This hilarious sign clearly doesn’t care about giving us early warning. After all, by the time you’ve started reading it, it’s already too late! What we don’t understand is why this bird house insists on having a sign like this outside.

Why Not?

Whether it’s booking a vacation or planning where to eat, getting recommendations from friends and family has always been a great way to insure that your plan is about to be fun. The internet, however, has made it so that we suddenly also have the opinion of strangers.

Why Not?

This pizza place decided that some random guy’s very strong opinions about their food would actually help them sell more food. Honestly, it’s working, because, now we kind of want to try it for ourselves, too!

High Skills Required

This museum thought it would be a fabulous idea to place a working piano in one of its main spaces, hoping that it would get skilled pianists to play some beautiful songs.

High Skills Required

Unfortunately, it seems that the unspoken rule wasn’t enough to stop unskilled piano enthusiasts from trying their hand at playing badly. So, they just had to put this very clear sign.

Centaurs Ahead

What we love even more than silly signs, are signs that used to be normal but have been altered to be anything but! This sign, believe it or not, used to be a warning against deer in the area.

Centaurs Ahead

Now, it just makes us believe that somewhere in the next three miles there’s a portal to some magical world like Narnia or Hogwarts. That would defiently be a sight to see.