Friday, 9 March 2012

Weird signs, posters and ads in Taiwan

This is a collection of (largely perfectly correct) signs, posters and advertisements that struck me as quirky...


The translator had a real challenge with this one.  It's a pun on a children's clapping game where you have to say "change, change, change" - "bian, bian, bian".  The sound "bian" is also a polite word for "excrement", as well as a word for "classify", so "Super changing excrement classification" becomes "Super bian bian bian".  I have no idea how I would have tried to translate it into English more effectively than "Classify your feces!"...

I'm fairly sure this is what we'd call a "paperbark".  The Chinese name means "white thousand layers", presumably a reference to the layers of "paperbark".  I just enjoyed the fact that it's a punk tree.

"This shop uses Australian beef - please eat with confidence."

I've never been totally sure what it means to "jigger".  Having seen this sign, I'm still not sure.



An ad for a laxative.  The tagline is "Aren't you finished yet?!?!"

A poster from the Mass Rapid Transit system - "Strike back against sexual harassment".  Click on the photo to take a closer look at the expression on the perpetrator's face.

Branding on some sort of plumbing equipment.  I think it's supposed to be a blend of "ever" and "integrity".

What on earth is "Angel Cigar Fun"?

"Pimp 99 For Man" - I think this was a hairdressers.

This is a pun - it can either be read "I love to go on it" or "I've fallen in love with it."  It's an ad for a bidet addition to your toilet.

"The driver of this bus has returned a normal alcohol test - please ride with confidence."  Two issues with this: 1.  the sign sits there all day, regardless of what bus turns up, and 2. it doesn't say our bus driver had a zero alcohol reading - just a normal one.
I don't recall the Chinese name - presumably it was something like "Fu Long Hotel".  The English name they chose was "The Fullon Hotel."  Hopefully it is the service that is "full on".

A sign at Jiufen.  The literal reading of the sign is something like "Inserted house alley".  It turns out that this is a tunnel / alleyway that twists and turns and goes underneath / between houses.

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