Photo of the day – I break for tanks


Road signs are designed to be universal so that anywhere in the world drivers can be aware of local driving rules and potential hazards. Yet this sign in South Korea isn’t something you’ll see on most roads, setting the speed limit for trucks as well as tanks at 20 kilometers per hour. Flickr user BaboMike guesses it’s a remnant from the war, as tank traffic isn’t so common these days.

Seen any unusual signs on the road? Add your photos to the Gadling Flickr pool and we may use it for a future Photo of the Day.

15 weird road signs from around the world

Travel around the world, and you’ll come across plenty of weird road signs that make the signs in the US seem downright boring. From the sign you see above (from South Africa), to signs warning about prostitutes, we’ve collected some of the funniest warnings from around the globe.

Got any others you’d like to share? Drop them in the links and we’ll include them in a future lineup!No smoking – for ANYONE

Probably a prank sign, but that doens’t make it any less funny.


A warning that will probably be ignored

That is one way to warn drivers not to go under the bridge if their vehicle is too high. Still, wanna bet the occassional driver tries anyway?


French speakers, turn left, Flemish speakers, turn right

The rivalry between the Flemish and the Walloons in Belgium can be pretty rough – This detour sends the French speakers to the left and the Flemish to the right. Seems downright mean to me.


Warning: deaf cat ahead

According to some forum posters, this is a real sign – warning about a deaf cat.


Aircraft have the right of way – yeah, no s**t!

No need to tell me this – if I’m driving down a road, and a plane wants to cross in front of me, I’ll always give them the right of way.


Translation please?

I can tell that this has something to do with camels – but what do they want us to do? Hit them? Avoid them?


Warning: prostitutes ahead!

I’m not sure whether this is an informational sign directing Italians to the prostitutes, or whether it is warning people not to hit them – but I doubt we’ll be seeing this sign in the US any time soon.


Pubic service announcement

Either a very good fake, or a council working too hard to warn people about the dangers lurking in the dark forests.


Never trust your GPS!

We did a little research on this one, and it appears to warn truck drivers not to use their GPS unit in the area. Most likely due to poor maps directing truck drives down a cliff or a road that is too narrow for their vehicles.


Redundant sign department

From the totally redundant department.


Another translation required

I’m sure this sign makes perfect sense. If you can read Chinese. Sadly, I can not, so to me it just seems to warn me about throwing things out of my car, but for all I know, it could be directing me to a local pub.


The vehicular dangers of the email auto-responder

This is a classic (and one that pops up a lot) – it is a sign from the UK in English and Welsh – but the Welsh translation is actually an auto-responder from the translation expert at the council offices saying: “I am not in the office at the moment. Please send any work to be translated“. Whoever sent the email got a reply back right away (of course) and assumed it was the correct translation.


Hope this is not illegal to ignore!

Presented without comment.


Farts can kill

Forest flatulence is dangerous!

Photo of the Day (03.13.10)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/borderfilms/sets/1575505/

Whimsy. People don’t talk about whimsy much when discussing travel. They talk about philosophy, introspection, packing lists and logistics. They talk about food and hotels and TSA horror stories and airport experiences. Lost in all of that is whimsy. Gadling loves all that other nonsense, but we also appreciate coy smiles, inside jokes and creativity. So, when I came across this photo by Flickr user borderfilms (Doug), I immediately knew that it deserved to be featured as our Photo of the Day.

I have no clue whether this is the result of a clever use of Photoshop or a cheeky photo op created by a sprightly packer, but I don’t really care (well, if it’s Photoshopped, I’ll be mildly disappointed). What’s important is that it’s not your traditional travel photo. It’s not a cliché road trip moment with a traveler giving a thumbs up in front of a sign. It’s original. It’s unique. It’s whimsical. And we need more whimsy in our lives.

Update: The picture is real. It’s part of a set by Doug Murray called Adventures of Hula Girl. Check it out here.

Are you part of the whimsical minority who finds (or creates) whimsy wherever you go? Submit your images to Gadling’s Flickr group right now and we might use it for a future Photo of the Day.

Taiwan’s road signs will make more sense next year

When I lived in Taiwan, I normally didn’t have a clue where I was going. The signage was not particularly helpful. I didn’t read Chinese, and, outside of Taipei, that’s mostly what you saw. Even when there were signs in English, there was an inconsistency with how street names were spelled.

Ask people to spell a word phonetically, and you’ll see variation. In Taiwan, up until recently, there were various systems used to translate words from Chinese into English. Unless there are standardized rules that everyone adheres to, variety might remain the spice of life, but getting from here to there is problematic.

Recognizing that when visitors come to Taiwan, whether for business or pleasure, they have a desire to be able to find their way easily, Taiwan has officially adopted the “hanyu pinyin writing system” for translating Chinese to English. This Reuters article explains the details about how the government is publishing a spelling guide in order to redo road signs in order to reflect the consistency. The changes will start in 2009.

No longer will you see “Minquan Road,” “Minchuan Road,” “Binjiang Street,” and “Pin Chiang Street” on various signs for the exact same street. See what I mean? Wouldn’t that drive you a bit NUTS?!

(Although, as you can see from the Flickr photo by onkio & di’s, some signs in Taiwan do reflect the adage, “A picture speaks a thousand words.” At least the part about the car getting towed.)