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Wednesday, December 22, 2010

W is for Warnings sometimes lost in translation

"Beware" it says on a fountain near the giant Three Gorges Dam in China.

"Please" it says to discourage people from climbing over the fence at the huge dam itself.

"Watch the escalator" where??? over my head??? This warning is in the Shanghai Museum.

A delicious warning sign at an ice cream shop on the pier in Clearwater, Florida.

Even with a sign in three languages, and staff working nearby, my brother Clint, the family clown,
 had to pretend to ignore the danger warning at this pool in Mexico.

Photos by Richard Schear, Kay Davies and Maria Davies

Posted for the ABC Wednesday meme. Other people, all over the world, have been playing around with the letter W. To see what they got, click

15 comments:

Su-sieee! Mac said...

hahahahahaha....These are some of the best signs I've seen yet. I'm glad they warn folks about what could happen to their ice cream! Merry Christmas!

Hooked on Memes said...

Great post! I love the protect your ice cream sign. Merry Christmas!

Beverley Baird said...

Have to love those translations! Even warnings in English tho. have to be worded so strangely, to prevent lawsuits!
Wishing you a very Christmas!

Leslie: said...

Isn't it funny when things get lost in translation! We see signs all over Vancouver and Richmond that just make us howl with laughter!

Cheryl said...

These are great! Didn't see a warning post in my journey. Perfect subject.

Roger Owen Green said...

language is SO peculiar!

ROG, ABC Wednesday team

Jo said...

Ha-ha! Kay. What a lovely post. I love the warning about the birds taking your treat. Have a great day. (((Hugs))) Jo

Gattina said...

Lol, these are real funny warnings !
Gattina from the ABC team

Nanka said...

Some of the signs are hilarious!!

Mara said...

Ah, but isn't a warning only an invitation to try and do exactly that what will take you to danger in the first place? To some at least...

NanU said...

Very clever, Kay! Excellent Wednesday!

Francisca said...

Kay, what a super and funny W posting! Warnings, indeed. One of my mini-regrets is that I did not start carrying a camera much much earlier. I've seen a million of these in China, and yes, they are often hilarious in the translation. But Beverly is mistaken, they have nothing to do with law suits, only control. :-D

Are you safely and happily back home now? Enjoy the festive weekend!

jabblog said...

Very nice Warnings giving a Welcome laugh :-)

chickenunderwear said...

Every day I check out

http://www.engrish.com/

You got some duzzies.

Sara Katt said...

Sooo funny!
Meow! I just laughed out loud! (And surprised everyone here, since cats usually don't do that.)

Thanks for sharing!
Purrs,
Sara Cat

Sara Cat's ABC-Wd-rd7-W