Saturday, March 5, 2011

Please Use Little Garbage on Floor

Eeeeeyyuuuu!

Being greeted by a sign like that is revolting under the best of circumstances. Use it for what? Why? But imagine opening the door to a public restroom and seeing that sign. I wouldn't want to use anything off that floor, no matter how clean it might look or how recently washed, much less little garbage. (I will admit to picking up dropped coins, but only just before washing them in the sink. With soap.)

Signs have been one of my pet peeves for a long time. I am referring, of course, to those so badly written that one not only wonders whether the writer of the sign had English as a first language, but indeed whether the writer even has a first language!

In the process of using this facility, I figured out what they thought they were saying. Instead of the wall-mount box for those feminine unmentionable disposables that they are trying hard to educate us not to flush, there was a tiny, lidded, round trash can on the floor, tucked back behind the toilet.

I decided to be kind to the next customers in the door. I got out my pen, and in my best lousy penmanship given my immobilized writing hand, added the word "can" to the sign in the appropriate location. It now reads, "Please use little garbage can on floor". You have to look hard to see the added word, since a ballpoint pen does not compete well with bold face ink jet full caps an inch high. But it's there.

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