A Little Winter Humor: Signs You Will, and Will Not, See in Canada
I thought a little winter humor, with all the snow and cold we’re getting, is in order. And also, a few more thoughts about signage in Canada.
Signs In Canada? – Turtle Crossing
When I took a picture of this sign, I thought I was being quite clever. I posted it on Face Book thinking there can’t be another sign like it in Canada. Wrong. One of my Facebook friends posted back, saying there was another one out there. And, if there are two, maybe there are more?…..
I saw this sign at Ruby Lake, British Columbia, Canada, on our way to Powell River. I can picture it all now. Lines of cars backed up for miles in either direction, patiently waiting for the painted turtle to cross the highway. Finally, someone gets out of a car, picks it up and carries it to the other side.
Not In Canada – Beware of Snakes
While visiting the Australian outback in Mungo Mungo National Park, New South Wales, I was just about to enter the men’s washroom when I saw this sign. Needless to say all desire to go to the bathroom left me. Maybe the staff wanted to humor us ‘Canucks’ a little. Not funny.
Never in Canada? I won’t fall for that one again. I thought I saw a rattlesnake crossing sign somewhere near Empress, Alberta. But maybe it was just my imagination.
Sprinting Moose
Beware of the bipedal patriotic Canadian Moose. A new species – Alces alces bipedia. Found only in Canada.
What?
Only a foreigner or a Canadian who visited Europe would get this one. I remember walking into a washroom in Paris in 1971, looking for the toilet. All I found was a hole in the ground where the toilet should have been.
And if I were the French I would put an equally obscure sign up in the washrooms for Canadians only, that the French wouldn’t understand. It would look something like this:
The Sign of My Dreams
Wherever this is, I’m going.
Which Way?
Maybe that last sign is located in one of these directions.Way better than the last one. Only two choices. Probably designed by a computer programmer.
I’m So Relieved
Well, if war ever starts, I know where I’m heading.
The Signs, ‘They Are A Changin’
‘We Don’t Care’ What? If you’re lopsided?
No Way This is a Canadian Sign
No way a Canadian made this sign. We know who you are though.
Equality in Canadian Signs
After reading my post on Indigenous signs in Alberta, my better half reminded me that further north and in the Canadian Arctic its not unusual to see a lot of Inuit signage and place names. And, she’s right. Ivvavik, Akiavik, Kittigazuit, Tuktoyaktuk, Aklavik, Inuvik…..
In the Yukon and British Columbia, you might see Indigenous signs such as this one at Kathleen Lake and other places.
But, Where’s the Balance?
Recognizing Indigenous places or bilingualism in Canada is all fine, to a point. But where do we stop? We are a pluralistic society in many parts of Canada. Maybe this sign below is our future (designed by the author)?
Is this Canada’s future? On the other side you might find Mandarin, Japanese, and some middle eastern languages as well. No matter, as soon as we start down this path who knows where it will end. And its not who we include on the sign, its who we leave out that could be considered insulting.
Somehow marine signs managed to avoided getting loaded with cultural baggage. No words of any kind here. Totally neutral. You are expected to know what this symbol means when boating.
