don't walk on the tracks

BB8_7000, originally uploaded by gugs.

This is a funny one, spotted in Namur, Belgium, around the railway station. The symbol means, don't walk on the tracks, nobody allowed from here. Did you ever see people walking with their arms like that ?

Shark prevention

HK3_3872, originally uploaded by gugs.

seen on an island in Hong Kong on the beach...

Oxymoron

HK3_4457, originally uploaded by gugs.

An oxymoron is a self-contradictory statement... This is a photographic oxymoron - this picture should not exist :D

No Spitting

various 2008 05, originally uploaded by gugs.

a similar sign as in Hong Kong. This one however is less clear to me. I am not sure the pictogram is understood by everybody. Seen in Bangalore, India.

Umbrella

sgp 2008 16, originally uploaded by gugs.

The image quality is terrible (I shot this from a taxi, and we were moving fast...) I really wonder what this is all about. Umbrella mandatory ? A place where you can find an umbrella ?

Anybody an idea ?

Surveillance camera

Signs 07, originally uploaded by gugs.

another funny one... the sign is there to warn you that there is a camera, just in case...

One way - lights

Panneau phares, originally uploaded by gugs.

This picture has been shot in Namur, Belgium and proposed by François Mertens, a fellow photographer from the Nikonpassion site. The sign says: "Switch on your headlights". This is amazing because 1) it is forbidden to enter the tunnel (one way road) and 2) the tunnel has been closed for the last 10 years.

parking in New York

parking, originally uploaded by gugs.

I shot this one in Manhattan in September 2000... I found it particularly funny...

Walking on water

interdit, originally uploaded by jacdesalpes.

submitted by a French colleague, the sign says "forbidden to walk on the water"... and it looks very serious... all interpretations possible

Californian law

US trip part 237, originally uploaded by gugs.

This is something you can see in hotels and restaurants in California. This is legal paranoia, to European eyes... the next step will be that tourists have to sign a document when entering the country to prove that they understand that by breathing they might inhale substances dangerous to their health.

Open door

Funny sign, originally uploaded by JeBeKe.

This is Dutch, shot in Belgium by a colleague of mine. "This gate should always be closed! ... even if it's open ...".
Proposed by Jan Verbeke

Distant restrooms

101_2860, originally uploaded by gugs.

This was somewhere in Yosemite, California... you shouldn't be in a hurry if you want to use the official amenities...

Dogs

BC 2006 print 0192, originally uploaded by gugs.

a "serious" one. Picture taken in the Butchard Gardens, in Victoria on Vancouver Island, BC, Canada

Beware of pedestrians

HKG_1121, originally uploaded by gugs.

This could be valid everywhere. This was at a place where nobody driving a car could see it... in Kowloon

Recycling

Recycling, originally uploaded by gugs.

not really a collection of signs. Seen in Germany by a colleague: the text says: " please help us recycling". The rest should be self-explanatory: beer, wine, schnaps etc...
Proposed by Peter van de Mortel.

Blind ?

HKG_1125, originally uploaded by gugs.

I would assume this is some kind of indication for blind people, but then how can they see it ? Am I missing something ? Maybe somebody can help and tell me what this is all about ?

Whales

DSC_42640608 Quebec 2005, originally uploaded by gugs.

On the ferry to Tadoussac, Québec province, Canada:
warning: whales crossing ! Probably not so manu places in the world where you can find such a sign...

Spitting

HKG_1084, originally uploaded by gugs.

Another interesting one. This is in the trains in Hong Kong. Strange place where you have to explicitly ask people not to spit in the train...

Electric carts

HKG_1194, originally uploaded by gugs.

you're never too careful, those things are dangerous and attack tourists...

Park

park close to home, originally uploaded by gugs.

this is just a mile from home... this is supposed to be a park where you can have a walk with your family (and children). But look at all the things you are not allowed to do... I guess walking and breathing are still ok...