My friend took this picture in Shanghai at a children’s ball pit:
I assume this message is either a warning not to throw the balls or is alluding to the seminal Bob Dylan album, Freewheelin’. I searched all the song lyrics on the album but couldn’t find any reference to “pompons”. I wonder if the “Please don’t throw” is a mistaken reference to the Bob Dylan cover of “Baby, Please Don’t Go”, but any true Dylan fan would know this track didn’t make the Freewheelin’ album cut. I appreciate this signmaker being a fan of Dylan, especially his early work, but a quick glance of Wikipedia could have cleared up any album track confusion.
A friend took the following picture on a bridge:
I’m confused by the picture of the mushroom, wishbone, and T-bone. I assume this sign was made by a foreigner because any Chinese signmaker would know the Chinese rarely waste food and would never toss a mushroom off a bridge and would save those wishbones and T-bones to flavor a stew.
…..
Check out the caption contest finalists.
The Good Greatsby 
misswhiplash
August 21, 2011
Very Good Paul, It does make you think though!
HoaiPhai
August 21, 2011
While you’re there in the UK, ask them what “tossing” means. I don’t think it’s the same as littering.
k8edid
August 21, 2011
Ok, now I’ve got to google tossing, freewheeling, wishbone and mushrooms. To be honest, though, the “wishbone” looks eerily like one of the stirrups from the gynecologist’s examining table. Combined with the gloved hand, t-bone (which looks suspiciously like a ball-peen hammer), mushroom and what appear to be bits of broken spaghetti, my mind is reeling. Thanks a lot, Paul.
k8edid
August 21, 2011
I meant, of course, my mind is freewheeling.
Laura
August 21, 2011
I’m really curious about the “No Tossing” sign. It looks to me like a hammer, a pair of pliers, and a screw. Are they telling you not to throw your disposable hardware (and possibly your severed hand) off the bridge?
She's a Maineiac
August 21, 2011
Good one, Laura! Thanks for that laugh this morning.
monicastangledweb
August 21, 2011
I think Laura’s take on the sign is correct. People should know, before they toss their severed hand, to first go to the nearest hospital to see if it can be reattached.
Thank goodness for all the signs you come across in China. Without them, what would we have to ponder?
Seeing Clarely
August 21, 2011
I definitely thought that was a stirrup, although I had some inkling in my mind that it reminded me of something else. Freewheeling k8edid got it right.
Luda
August 22, 2011
The last sign screams, to me, “Watch for falling hammers and horseshoes!” but what do I know? Apparently not very much.
bloggertobenamedlater
August 22, 2011
I think it translates out to do not dump bodies and the means with which they were killed here. It’s very Reservoir Dogs.
Thomas Stazyk
August 22, 2011
I thought it meant no throwing up.
limr
August 22, 2011
I can’t believe they misspelled pompoms!
spilledinkguy
August 22, 2011
It’s Pictionary day at the sign factory!
🙂
Renee Schuls-Jacobson
August 22, 2011
Limr, I was afraid to bring spelling into the mix.
savesprinkles1234
August 22, 2011
Yes, I’m freeeeeeee, freewheeling!! At first I thought they’d misspelled tampons!
judithhb
August 22, 2011
I am so glad that you explained what all the images were on the bridge sign. I thought the T bone was a hammer. Silly me!
ryoko861
August 22, 2011
It’s hilarious, isn’t it? My son was reading directions on the back of a car model that was written in Chinese AND American. It made absolutely NO sense! We had a great laugh over it. Obviously, they don’t have words that match our words, so the improvise.
I couldn’t tell you what that last one means. “Don’t throw tools”? Not a good thing to do especially if you’re mad.
thelifeofjamie
August 22, 2011
I know when I am in a wasteful mood, I freewheeling my pompons and often throw hammers and mushrooms. Those are always in my waste pile.
Penny
August 22, 2011
The amusement of our imagination !
gerknoop
August 22, 2011
Don’t let them mislead you Greatsby….pompons is actually the “correct” spelling…..they should know, most of them are made in China!
Brown Road Chronicles
August 22, 2011
That is actually a hammer, a pair of pliers and a large bolt. What they are actually saying is, please don’t take your tools and remove the bolts from the bridge and throw them in the water, because then, of course, the bridge will fall down!
Byron MacLymont
August 22, 2011
Mushroom, wishbone and t-bone? Throw those in a broth, you got yourself a stew!
bluebee
August 23, 2011
Certainly makes us take more notice of the signs than we would otherwise
pegoleg
August 23, 2011
I think that horseshoey thing looks kinda like a bird head. So with a severed hand, a mushroom, broken spaghetti and T-bone, they’re definitely saying don’t make a stew in this body of water. Is that a big problem in Shanghai?
Ahab
August 24, 2011
(My first comment didn’t appear. Attempt #2.)
Had your friend considered submitting these pictures to Engrish Funny, if he or she hasn’t done so already?
http://engrishfunny.failblog.org
Poached Hens
August 30, 2011
Got me laughing out loud at work again. Aargh… I hate you.
J Holmes
September 1, 2011
My guess is that they wanted to warn everyone to stay off the bridge because it was made in China.