Book on quirky road signs evokes laughter

Dubai: Travel writer and photographer Doug Lansky had diners burst into laughter on Thursday night at Dubai Festival City as he showed 50 ‘mildly vulgar' road signs from his quirky collection.

His pictorial book Lonely Planet's Signspotting: World's Most Absurd Signs is a best-seller and some of the signs he has collected are on display at the Festival Marina till February 28 during the Dubai Shopping Festival.

The signs shot by people around the globe which show hilarious translations, graphics which have absurd and sometimes sexual double-meanings and funny English language oversights has attracted more than three million people in Europe when they were showcased earlier.

"More people are speaking English as their second language today," Lansky told Gulf News, noting that the language is being badly mangled worldwide.

But the American said the situation is the same even in English-speaking countries.

Lansky said there are no more ‘locals' anywhere today, meaning the inter-connected world has erased borders. "The internet has changed the landscape in English. An Afghan can easily look up something on the Philippines," he said, but noted the internet has created a "perfect storm of miscommunication".

He recalled when he was a travel consultant, the WHO asked him why people have stopped travelling after SARS. "Wasn't it obvious after you name a disease with adjectives as "severe", "acute" and then add the word "syndrome"," he joked.

The ridiculous signs include: "Some kind of fish from Red Sea", at a museum in Egypt. "God Bless America. Drop off hazardous waste". "Yelling dental clinic" in China.

A sign in the middle of the desert saying "Sand". "Rely on God Hairdresser". "Toilet-Stay in your car". "Warning to tourists. Do not laugh at the natives."

Next time you are travelling and see a sign "tasteless coffee" or "Beware of Missing foot", don't' worry, it is just a bad case of miscommunication.

Have you seen such funny signs around the UAE? Send us your photographs at: readers@gulfnews.com