Monday, July 25, 2011

I Saw the Sign

My evening power walk route provides me with cardio training and mental relaxation. It also offers up entertainment of a different kind: amusing store signs. I finally remembered to take my camera this soupy, humid weekend and here is a brief collection.

Mile 1: Crimes Against Puns/Design/French
Exalonce/Exsalonce Salon & Spa
Gross! Backtracking on my earlier statement, this sign is more cringe-worthy than amusing. I assumed for months that this place was named "Exalonce" and simply hated it for a dumb misspelling. Then Google taught me that it is actually "Exsalonce"... big difference!  Fail #1 is that the cross of the "X" isn't graphically conveying an "S" to passersby, leading to Fail #2 of a bad pun. And tucked at the end is Fail #3, a snobby French cédille on the "C".


Mile 2: Self-Explanatory
Owner might have wanted to think through this name.
Gets me every time, especially given its yuppie neighborhood location. Membership also valid at its Chicago sister studios: Self Important Yoga and Self Obsessed Yoga.



Mile 3: Creepy Bunny
Not as weird as it used to be.
This photography shop's window was the original inspiration for this post. Sadly, it was not THIS photo that made me crack up every walk. To my dismay, the first crazy window display I saw was replaced by the time I brought my camera. But oh wait! Google has come through yet again! Behold the original wonder...
As weird as it used to be.
Both portraits are animal-oriented and bizarre in their own right so ... way to find your niche? 


Mile 15: Confused

OK, I didn't walk to the Chicago Skyway, but I have driven through several times this summer and noticed this great sign at the bridge toll booth. I'm 99% sure that it refers to confusion about paying tolls (answer: you pay them with money). However, I like to imagine an unstable person pulling up to the help button and asking the meaning of life. Or a kid asking for help on calculus homework. Or a bi-curious person asking how to explore different relationships. The highway authority has my permission to use my toll payment and add a couple clarifying words to this sign.

And if you're looking to procrastinate with far cleverer signs, check out this.
Posted by Kramy at 12:41 PM
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3 comments:

  1. AnonymousJuly 25, 2011 at 1:29 PM

    Oooh, I like this topic. Silly signs have always interested me. On the ride to Denison U. where Uncle Ken went to college we would pass Skagg's Beauty Parlor and Bland's Restaurant. I know they were family names but a poor choice for attracting business. This reminds me of the conversation I had with Andrew that almost every business would benefit by adding the words "Bar and Grille" to their name.

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  2. Monica HoltsclawJuly 25, 2011 at 7:43 PM

    What an entertaining walk you have :) Was the bunny/baby pic photoshopped into the middle of a city street, or is that just the reflection in the window? Either way, it adds a new level of entertainment.

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  3. KramyJuly 26, 2011 at 12:55 AM

    Hee! Monj, that streetscape is just my bad photography. But how fun would it be if the photographer started 'shopping random landscapes into all portraits?

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