I naturally want to stop for a photo whenever I come across an odd sign. This isn’t a new fixation – I’ve posted a batch before. So this is the latest installment. I won’t be discussing anything intellectual or educational today. Simply sit back and enjoy.
Florida Panthers; not just a hockey team
I would imagine that panther crossing signs are somewhat rare. Deer crossing, sure. They’re everywhere. I’ve even seen a sign for turtle crossing. However this is the only time I’ve ever been warned to watch out for wandering panthers with a tendency to jump out in front of cars.
The Florida Panther, a type of cougar, is critically endangered and there may be only 80-100 of them left alive. One of their few remaining outposts happens to be Everglades National Park, where I visited last April on the way to Key West. The loss of even a single specimen could harm the population. It would be a shame to further endanger the species because of a few inattentive tourists. Hopefully this visual reminder will make a difference.
The sign appeared on the road to the Royal Palm Visitors Center (map). I never did see the panther, though.
Poison Ivy
How tired or desperate would someone have to be to sit down on the poison ivy bench? This seems like a crazy experiment dreamed-up by psychology students conducting field researching for their doctorate. Imagine. A hot, sunny day. A tantalizing bench. Mounds upon mounds of poison ivy just feet away, and you are really, really tired. Do you take the risk? Do you walk away?
The Park Service had a choice. The could have simply moved the bench. No, instead they created a warning sign, mounted it and let visitors make the decision on their own. Someone at Maryland’s Glen Echo Park is very cruel.
Subterranean Virginia
Welcome to Virginia! There’s nothing wrong with this sign. Its totally normal. Everyone has seen similar markers while traveling across state or national boundaries, probably many different times. This one is a little different though because it’s not along a roadside. It’s underground. Indeed this marker is found on a platform 97 vertical feet below street level.
The Blue, Orange and Silver Lines of the Washington, DC Metro subway share a tunnel under the Potomac River and enter Arlington County at the Rosslyn station. The Commonwealth of Virginia erected a border sign within the station just to let passengers know they’d entered a new land.
You can see part of the tunnel on the right side of the photo.
Firepower
There’s a distressing seriousness behind this sign on the front door of the Minnesota Children’s Museum in St. Paul. I’m afraid to even ask what must have happened before the curators felt compelled to erect the sign.
On a lighter note, I couldn’t get the image of pistol-packing toddlers out of my mind. Don’t mess with those kids from Minnesota. They grow ’em tough up there.
Time to Recombobulate
There’s little room for levity at airport security. It’s better to remain serious and keep to one’s business rather than risk the possibility of an extra special body cavity search. That’s why I was surprised to spot this sign in the Milwaukee, Wisconsin airport after I passed through the magnetometer and prepared to put my shoes and my belt back on, repack my laptop, and find the various bits of metal I’d placed in the little plastic bin.
I felt, well, a little discombobulated. What better place to go than the recombobulation area? That’s not a real word, or at least I don’t think it is, but it represents something even more rare: a security checkpoint with a sense of humor.
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