Lately I've found myself a little amused or puzzled by some signs I've been seeing. Maybe I'm just getting old and not thinking so clearly or maybe I'm just taking things too literally but these three signs pictured here caused me to pause a moment or two to be be sure I understood them. For instance, a large ad by a defense contractor talks about "the value of canes for information dominance." I'm sure they know what they mean by "canes," but working in the disability community the first thing I think of are white canes used by people with low or no vision. Then there's that troubling reference to "canes" and "dominance" in the same sentence, as if they are referring to some form of punishment. Then in a building I often go into there's the sign with the words "this building promotes a non smoking policy." Just promote? How tentative is that? Why not just say "No Smoking"? Why only "promote"? Seems a bit vague, doesn't it, like I can smoke in the building and nothing much will happen as it's just "a building promotion." Then parked nearby was the truck with the sign that says "Driver does not carry cash" but just below that, someone has added another sign that said "only cashews." In fact, this pair of signs was on the back of the delivery truck as well. So, I wondered, why does the driver carry "only cashews." What's wrong with peanuts, for instance? Or walnuts? Then, silly me, I realized it was about "cash" and not nuts so I went "ha ha ha" and wondered who thought this up. Just idle thoughts on the way to work that tell you how my mind goes off in odd directions sometimes.
Lately I've found myself a little amused or puzzled by some signs I've been seeing. Maybe I'm just getting old and not thinking so clearly or maybe I'm just taking things too literally but these three signs pictured here caused me to pause a moment or two to be be sure I understood them. For instance, a large ad by a defense contractor talks about "the value of canes for information dominance." I'm sure they know what they mean by "canes," but working in the disability community the first thing I think of are white canes used by people with low or no vision. Then there's that troubling reference to "canes" and "dominance" in the same sentence, as if they are referring to some form of punishment. Then in a building I often go into there's the sign with the words "this building promotes a non smoking policy." Just promote? How tentative is that? Why not just say "No Smoking"? Why only "promote"? Seems a bit vague, doesn't it, like I can smoke in the building and nothing much will happen as it's just "a building promotion." Then parked nearby was the truck with the sign that says "Driver does not carry cash" but just below that, someone has added another sign that said "only cashews." In fact, this pair of signs was on the back of the delivery truck as well. So, I wondered, why does the driver carry "only cashews." What's wrong with peanuts, for instance? Or walnuts? Then, silly me, I realized it was about "cash" and not nuts so I went "ha ha ha" and wondered who thought this up. Just idle thoughts on the way to work that tell you how my mind goes off in odd directions sometimes. 
Yep, there's often a sign seen in English parks which says "Please do not feed bread to the ducks". So, does that mean you can feed them something else?
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