The Power of Words to Make Me Laugh by Debra H. Goldstein
Writers often talk about the power of words to evoke emotions, engage readers, and share ideas. Recently, I’ve taken note of signs that make me chuckle. What could be more emotion evoking, engaging, and idea sharing than words that make one laugh?
On one of the roads I travel, there is a storage unit facility in the middle of nowhere. I don’t know its name, but I am aware of its existence because it puts up a new sign each week that always catches my eye. This week’s sign reads:
Beef Steak is not a good Password
It isn’t Stroganoff
Did you laugh once you figured it out?
Sometimes signs that started out as one thing become iconic in their own right. For example, on Interstate 65, near Prattville, Alabama, there is one that has a metallic red devil holding a pitchfork. The devil originally was meant to remind people about the Red Devil gasoline chain (bet you’ve never heard of that!), but in the 1980’s, the devil was incorporated into a billboard, which sat on private land, where the devil took up the entire left side of the sign, with its pitchfork pointing at the words that say:
GO TO
CHURCH
Or the DEVIL will get you.
For years, people took comfort when they passed that sign, but it was blown down in 2016. Subsequently, people tended to mention it as an Alabama icon. In response, the owner put it back up in 2016, because he enjoyed providing a message for motorists to contemplate.
In prepping this blog, I Googled for other funny signs. Three were particularly funny. In one, a man stands outside Target holding a self-made cardboard sign that reads: “Not Homeless. Wife in Target 2+ hours. Please Help!” In another, a man with a homemade sign also is featured. His message is simple: “It’s Not Self Checkout If I Need Help Every Time.” Perhaps the funniest, to me, is a high mountain of snow that looks like it was pushed together by a street plow. A small sign hung on it says: “FREE SNOWMAN some assembly required.”
Are there any signs that you can remember seeing that tickled your funny bone?
