Skilifts.org / SORT Forum

Am I the only one in this paranoid society who is sick and tired of "safety posters" and the hackneyed opportunists that are breathlessly hawking them? Most all workplaces are now literally wallpapered with trite signage that seeks to instruct workers in nearly every activity from the use of stairways to preventing sunburn. I'm not in favor of accidents in the workplace - nor do I think that the originators of the idea of workplace safety were off base - the hacks and the insurance people have just taken things way too far. New "safety specialist" companies spring up every day - and solicit sales by telephone constantly - riding the wave of accident paranoia. Post enough signs and nobody reads them. What ever happened to informed common sense?

Try finding a decent set of instructions on a can of spray paint - useful information like application suggestions, drying time, hardening time and suitable surface prep has been crowded off the label by endless warnings about senseless potential hazards - in at least two languages. For goodness sake, HAMMERS now come with warning stickers. If anything deserves a warning message, it's cell phones.

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Wow, those signs are awesome. I agree, there are some signs and labels that I don't think need to be there. Here are some warning labels that will get a laugh.

Keep out of children- on a knife
Do not use for drying pets- manual for microwave
For use by trained personnel only- On a can of air freshener
Warning: never iron clothes on the body- on an iron
Do not feed to fish- dog shampoo
Warning: may contain nuts- pack of peanuts

I've seen a few funny ones too.

I'm not sure if you remember those old party pop it things with the warning label on the bottom, but it said "Don't point this end towards face."

There is also the fairly new Nissan Extera ad showing a snowboarder going down a run. It said "Do not try this, professional snowboarder!" or something in that area.

But I think there is a site that has all the weird warning labels.

At whistler the Alpine responsibility code is printed on several of the towers on Big Red, i think in parts on other chairs but i don't remeber. It's something everyone should read, but does it really need to be on the lift towers?

One that I like was on a chainsaw, "Caution Sharp Chain, do not attempt to stop with hands or genitals."

i love how on heinz vinegar, it says "ideal for food"

I'm not sure what this one means...

i beleive it means only one person on the lift at the time, or no conjoined twins allowed

The site's name is www.dumbwarnings.com and its great. I've always loved on a large set of crushing jaws (for an excavator) that I saw with the warning of "extreme injury and or death may occur if part of body is put between jaws during operation.

ski9600, on Mar 2 2006, 10:31 AM, said:

I thought it was a "Catholic Thing".

Or a warning to a certain pop star.

Canada seems to have a lot more "pictographs" along their hiways then the U.S. has. Two of my favorites:

o A drawing of a man lying on a low table. I thought it meant "Morgue ahead", but my wife insists that it means "Lodging ahead".

o A drawing of a water surface with a person waving their arms franticly and then a line thru the pic. I couldn't decide if it meant "no drowning" or "no calling for help if you are drowning".

TCS

The reason for the multitude of pictograms is the bilingual nature of Canada. A picture can be understood no matter which language you speak, however not always is it interpreted correctly. An example of this can be found in the owner's manual for late model cars, there are American labels on the dash and Canadian ones, where the american ones use words to describe something, the canadian version uses a picture.

More on Emax's original point- I agree wholeheartedly. Whatever happened to common sense? We have 'raise footrest' signs right before the 'unload here' signs. Several times a day people come into the top terminal without raising the footrest and insist they can get off the chair with it down. If we didn't have the sign we wouldn't have any more of those incidents anyway. People don't read signs.
My favourite warning is the one on coffee cups. I know why it's there, from that stupid woman who sued McGarbage's, but it still evokes a shake of the head every time I see it. Of course coffee is hot.
Some of you have seen this already, but anyway-

Mind if we borrow that one?

We had that same poster in our shop! Just added a D.V.L.M. to the bottom of it

Emax, on Mar 24 2006, 03:12 PM, said:

No...but he wants to try it

I like the ones in buildings (I first saw it in the Winter Park West Portal Rental Shop) on the pipes that say "Snowmelt Supply" and "Snowmelt Return". We've got one on a sprinkler pipe that says "Domestic Cold Beer" in the Vehicle Parts room. If you ever meet your Grainger rep, ask him to get some funny ones for you from the Brady sales rep.

found another one