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Lonely Planet Signspotting #01
Signspotting: Absurd and Amusing Signs from Around the World
Lonely The world's leading travel guide publisher* Anyone who has spent time on the road knows that you often have to depend on signs...to navigate the town, locate your hotel, and even obey the law. A scary thought if you've ever come across any of the publicly posted absurdities that appear in this signs about as easy to understand as a Swahili auctioneer (to a non-Swahili speaker) or as well-planned as the dance steps in a mosh pit. With the help of signspotters around the globe, we've assembled a collection of some of the most unintentionally entertaining postings on the planet - we hope they confuse and amuse you! Doug Lansky About Lonely Started in 1973, Lonely Planet has become the world's leading travel guide publisher with guidebooks to every destination on the planet, as well as an award-winning website, a suite of mobile and digital travel products, and a dedicated traveller community. Lonely Planet's mission is to enable curious travellers to experience the world and to truly get to the heart of the places where they travel. TripAdvisor Travellers' Choice Awards 2012 and 2013 winner in Favorite Travel Guide category 'Lonely Planet guides are, quite simply, like no other.' - New York Times 'Lonely Planet. It's on everyone's bookshelves; it's in every traveller's hands. It's on mobile phones. It's on the Internet. It's everywhere, and it's telling entire generations of people how to travel the world.' - Fairfax Media (Australia) *#1 in the world market share - Nielsen Bookscan. Australia, UK and USA. March 2012-January 2013
160 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 2005
2 people are currently reading
504 people want to read
About the author
Doug Lansky
20 books15 followersDOUG LANSKY is an American travel writer and keynote speaker based in Sweden. He spent about 10 years traveling the world nonstop, visiting over 100 countries, and has since lived outside the US for an additional 13 years. Doug has contributed to Esquire, Men’s Journal, The Guardian, National Geographic Adventure, Reader’s Digest, COLORS Magazine, PublicRadio, and many others. He has written books for Rough Guides and Lonely Planet (advice and photo books, not guides) and has had a nationally syndicated travel column in 40 newspapers around the United States. He has always been mindful of the effects of travel writing and the impact of tourism, and currently writes about this in a regular column for Skift and speaks about it at tourism conferences around the world.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 45 reviews
June 27, 2025
laughed all the way through
January 7, 2009
I've been snapping pictures of inane signs for a long time. I have a computer file "Signs of the Apocalypse" loaded with shots that make me go 'huh?'
This book is a fun read (although read is not quite right). I've been a fan of the web site for a long time. It's nice to have a physical manifestation of our careless ignorance.
Some of my favoites:
"CAUTION - Please be aware that the balcony is not on ground level"
Movie Theater Marquee: "Twisted-Passion of Christ-Dirty Dancing"
"Temperary Sign" (I kid you not)
"Bottomless Pit - 65 feet deep"
"Chnged Priorities Ahead" (yah, I know that one!)
Bathroom reading, perhaps, but good for a few chuckles.
This book is a fun read (although read is not quite right). I've been a fan of the web site for a long time. It's nice to have a physical manifestation of our careless ignorance.
Some of my favoites:
"CAUTION - Please be aware that the balcony is not on ground level"
Movie Theater Marquee: "Twisted-Passion of Christ-Dirty Dancing"
"Temperary Sign" (I kid you not)
"Bottomless Pit - 65 feet deep"
"Chnged Priorities Ahead" (yah, I know that one!)
Bathroom reading, perhaps, but good for a few chuckles.
April 10, 2012
This delightful and quick read features amusing signs from around the globe. Unlike many other books on this subject (such as Richard Lederer's hilarious Anguished English series) Signspotting consists of full-color pictures of the real signs along with the location.[return][return]Here are a few examples:[return][return]On an outdoor sign for a First Baptist Church in Ambridge, Pennsylvania:[return]No Man Is Happy[return]Unless He Believes[return]He Is[return]Rev John Ritter Pastor[return][return]Movie marquee on the Fox Theater in Watsonsville, California:[return]TWISTED[return]PASSION OF CHRIST[return]DIRTY DANCING[return][return]It's my sort of humor. This is the perfect book to have around as a pick-me-up at the end of a rough day, rather like Jay Leno's old Headlines books. I'll definitely be getting more in the Signspotting series.
June 26, 2018
Crazy signs and sign placings sent to the editor from around the world. Made me literally LOL.
Examples, i.e. Spoilers to follow:
Examples, i.e. Spoilers to follow:
August 11, 2012
Clever little book full of signs from street to advertisements to warnings and even businesses. These are signs that have been spotted all over the world so some of the humor comes from simply translating the words to English, or the inability to find English on a sign that states "INFORMATION" yet contains no legible words for those who understand the word "INFORMATION". Some signs are funny and slightly humorous while others were a good laugh out loud. Some were so ridiculous you wonder where the heck the editor was prior to the sign being printed.
August 14, 2007
This book made me laugh out loud many times - and I read it while standing in the bookstore! I have to add that one of the pictures was taken on the main street of Chapel Hill - and this is a collection of ridiculous signs from AROUND THE WORLD! What are the chances?
Definetly worth a good laugh. Enjoy!
Definetly worth a good laugh. Enjoy!
February 21, 2010
This is a cute coffee table or bathroom book, but it's most likely a book given/received as a gift (I got mine from my girlfriend's mom for Xmas), read once, and then forgotten about until someone else picks it up or it gets regifted down the line.
July 27, 2011
The signs are great. If one is used to snarky, pithy, witty commentary on websites devoted to silly things like these, the commentary may leave something to be desired, but luckily there is not much of it, as the signs rightfully should be the main attraction anyway!
May 30, 2016
Such a fun book. A very quick and easy read, most of the content consisted of pictures of signs. These signs, due either to placement, wording, or design, were all very funny. I greatly enjoyed all of them. It also made me think of all the funny signs I've seen myself. Very fun, really enjoyed it.
October 19, 2020
Just a flip book with images of signs :) how wonderful and snazzy, well tbh the concept is boring but it's got funny signs here and there and I enjoyed those little moments, some of the humour could be dry but that's okay, the graphics are good to look at :)
January 18, 2011
Ok, found this at World Market. As I often take pictures of odd signs (or ones with burned out letters that spell something out) I had to have it.
... Either the copy I got was badly put together at the bindery or someone edited this while drunk.
The chapter titles/descriptions had nothing to do with the following pages.
So I ignored them and laughed by butt off.
The signs are priceless.
Yay.
This is a wonderful bathroom book.
... Either the copy I got was badly put together at the bindery or someone edited this while drunk.
The chapter titles/descriptions had nothing to do with the following pages.
So I ignored them and laughed by butt off.
The signs are priceless.
Yay.
This is a wonderful bathroom book.
August 24, 2018
Just a gallery of funny images and signs, but some are really great. Two good examples:
"No Man Is Happy Unless He Believes He is Rey John Ritter Pastor"
"Payment before ordering"
So, a good collection worth having as a bad mood cure.
"No Man Is Happy Unless He Believes He is Rey John Ritter Pastor"
"Payment before ordering"
So, a good collection worth having as a bad mood cure.
July 10, 2008
Some very amusing signs in this one. Great for a quick flick through and some laughs.
August 14, 2008
Ah HAHAHAHAHHA... guacashito....
December 10, 2008
This book is so great! It's a fun read that kept me laughing out loud.
December 22, 2008
This has to be one of THE most funny books I have ever read. Ever.
February 15, 2009
If you don't laugh until you cry while reading this book, you have no sense of the absurd!
January 3, 2011
Purchased and had signed when Doug Lansky came to speak at school. Very fun!
July 26, 2011
Just a bunch of funniness.
August 4, 2011
I laughed so loud and so hard that my husband thought I was being murdered....... look for 'taxidermy and cheese' - it's the best
February 16, 2015
There were some really funny signs in this book!! :)
May 7, 2013
Funny!
April 1, 2016
I got a good laugh out of this little book. Totally worth a read and might even find a place on my bookshelf for next time I need a quick simple and funny read.
April 22, 2015
I loved the signs and most of the commentaries were funny (or at least benign), but the book layout really had no rhyme or reason as did the placement of the little essays.
Good flip-through.
Good flip-through.
December 19, 2017
FUN READ.
Read
September 21, 2015Will use for making greeting cards. 2D embellishments.
December 14, 2015
Funny, though very similar to "Ultimate Signspotting: Absurd & Amusing Signs from Around the World", which I had just recently read. Ah well...
April 28, 2017
Very amusing compilation.
May 31, 2019
When one reads road signs, it is worthwhile to appreciate on their absurdity. At times a given sign may seem to make sense when the elements are viewed in isolation, but when viewed together, reveal something very alarming, as when a road is marked as simultaneously "not a through street" and "evacuation route," which is the invitation to a deep sort of tragedy if there should be a tsunami or hurricane or other natural disaster. At other times, names that once had a quaint personal or historical reason seem amusing and absurd because of that they mean to others, such as French Lick State Park in Kentucky or the small (and somewhat dull) town of Boring, Oregon, one of my favorite towns to drive through in the eastern part of the Portland metropolitan area. Still other names are absurd because they rely on a disconnect between the intentions of the signmaker and the understanding of the audience, such as a restaurant that is called Barf or a restrictive speed limit as one approaches the high speed racing area of the Bonneville Salt Flats, to give a couple of the more egregious examples.
This book is a short one that is long on photos and funny captions and that is sure to make any experienced traveler howl in laughter or at least give many a wry grin. The author introduces the reality that a great many signs are made in English around the world by people who do not know English idioms all that well and are fond of making a lot of bad and likely intentional puns with hilarious results over the rest of the book. Whether one is looking at the strange mixture of gasoline and fried chicken being advertised by a gas station or ponder the desirability of stopping at the Thunder Hole restrooms, or alarmed by signs that warn about "sudden gunfire" or unnecessary cautions about pedestrians walking (what else would they be doing? what other kind of pedestrians are there?), there is a lot to be amused about here. Still other signs warn against foot wearing or warn people that there is no exit for Paradise or mention that Promised Land is closed or point out that a parking lot is not a street for those who might be confused. Still other signs are full of bizarre irony, like the Safe Haven small animal hospital that welcomes hungers (!!) or that offer relaxation areas in remote landslide-prone areas along the China-Pakistan border or that market restaurants with unpleasant names like El Guacashito, which doesn't sound like any restaurant I would want to go to.
As someone who has traveled around the world, I can attest to the existence of many very unintentionally hilarious or awkward signs along roadsides, for businesses, or in tourist areas. It is unsurprising that this book is only the first of a series of books on the same subject, though lamentably my local library system only had this volume of the set. One of the lessons this book reinforces is that signs become funny when they are viewed in a different context than that which is meant by the person making the sign. The desire for efficiency to the point of terseness on the part of people making signs tends to create a sort of Kuleshov effect by which different instructions or pieces of advice or notices end up being viewed as part of the same message, with humorous results. So long as people imperfectly understand English or fail to understand the full context of what they are trying to communicate, there are going to be a lot more books like this one full of terrible signs to be laughed at by people like me.
This book is a short one that is long on photos and funny captions and that is sure to make any experienced traveler howl in laughter or at least give many a wry grin. The author introduces the reality that a great many signs are made in English around the world by people who do not know English idioms all that well and are fond of making a lot of bad and likely intentional puns with hilarious results over the rest of the book. Whether one is looking at the strange mixture of gasoline and fried chicken being advertised by a gas station or ponder the desirability of stopping at the Thunder Hole restrooms, or alarmed by signs that warn about "sudden gunfire" or unnecessary cautions about pedestrians walking (what else would they be doing? what other kind of pedestrians are there?), there is a lot to be amused about here. Still other signs warn against foot wearing or warn people that there is no exit for Paradise or mention that Promised Land is closed or point out that a parking lot is not a street for those who might be confused. Still other signs are full of bizarre irony, like the Safe Haven small animal hospital that welcomes hungers (!!) or that offer relaxation areas in remote landslide-prone areas along the China-Pakistan border or that market restaurants with unpleasant names like El Guacashito, which doesn't sound like any restaurant I would want to go to.
As someone who has traveled around the world, I can attest to the existence of many very unintentionally hilarious or awkward signs along roadsides, for businesses, or in tourist areas. It is unsurprising that this book is only the first of a series of books on the same subject, though lamentably my local library system only had this volume of the set. One of the lessons this book reinforces is that signs become funny when they are viewed in a different context than that which is meant by the person making the sign. The desire for efficiency to the point of terseness on the part of people making signs tends to create a sort of Kuleshov effect by which different instructions or pieces of advice or notices end up being viewed as part of the same message, with humorous results. So long as people imperfectly understand English or fail to understand the full context of what they are trying to communicate, there are going to be a lot more books like this one full of terrible signs to be laughed at by people like me.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 45 reviews