Media release – November 27, 2007

New Zealand features in laugh-aloud photo signspotting book

New Zealand road signs feature in the latest Lonely Planet laugh-out-loud funny photos of signs around the world book Signspotting 2.

A Manawatu road sign near Opiki reads ‘check your depth before entering’ which attracted the caption: ‘Deeper thinkers ahead’.

In the Bay of Plenty a sign reads: ‘Stop and Taste Te Puke’ but the book doesn’t understand Maori pronunciation and it includes the comment: ‘Mmmm….haven’t had a taste of that for a while’.

Then there is the North Otago road sign ‘Shag Point (Matakaea)’ with the book’s comment: ‘Think your date is going to get suspicious if you take her here’.

Finally a Wellington street sign shows arrows going clockwise around a bus with the words ‘buses turning’. The books says: ‘better fasten your seatbelt’.

The books offers gunny sign photos of misspellings, misunderstandings, inadvertent missed translations and simple stupidity.

Such as: ‘Handicapped Accessible Restrooms Located Upstairs’.

They are mistranslations ‘soft fried crap’ instead of ‘crab’ double entendres: the ‘Fat Ho Elderly Center’.

Ends