17 September 2007: Signs of the times

Campaigners for good English have attacked the growing tendency for people to put up stupid signs. As examples, they cite a number of silly so-called 'information' notices such as:

a packet of peanuts carrying the warning "may contain nuts";

a steam iron with the instruction "Do not iron clothes on body";

a bicycle manual with the observation "Removing the wheel can influence the performance of the bicycle";

sleeping pills that say "may cause drowsiness"; and

an aircraft door with a notice advising "Do not open door while airborne".

"They assume a lack of intelligence on the part of the reader", a spokesman commented.

Other dislikes include a road sign which read "Caution: water on road during rain" and a police notice which simply said "Don't commit crime".

The spokesman concluded: "If nothing needs to be said, say nothing."

'nuf said.