PHOTOS - Ireland’s top hilarious and plain strange road signs
A road sign from the Dingle Peninsula, in County Kerry, has won the Travel and Leisure contest for the funniest signs photo contest, and we’re not in the least bit surprised (see photo gallery above).
The winning photograph, taken in Kerry, is of a road sign warning of a steep cliff close to the upcoming road. However, what the very literal sign shows is a car going headfirst into the sea with an actual steep cliff in the background.
As the travel publication points out, taking photos of funny signs has become a pastime for vacationers and Ireland is certainly a paradise for these kinds of snaps, including strange warnings, road signs or signs that just do not seem right.
Other big winners in the contest included a sign next to water in Mystic, CT, which says throwing rocks will cost $0.50c each. Another in Beijing, China, shows a bunch of points all over a map confusingly telling the viewers “You are here”.
However we can proudly say that Ireland’s car driving off a cliff is officially the funniest road sign.
PHOTOS - Ireland’s top hilarious and plain strange road signs
12 Comments
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Switch to the desktop site to post a comment.Leitrim666 | Dec 13, 2012, 08:43 AM EST
Why is this bizarre or hilarious? This is the standard road sign in Ireland to warn of unprotected water and it should be clear to anyone what it means, unless they are intellectually challenged. It depicts a car falling off a pier, not a steep cliff as suggested in your article. It is exactly the same graphic used throughout western Europe (although those signs are on a white triangle with red border). Maybe some find this mildly amusing but there are plenty of truly funny signs around if people bothered to look. There's a sign near my house which says "No tourist shooters". Apparently shooting tourists is a problem in Leitrim.
Canadian | Nov 29, 2012, 08:54 AM EST
I saw a sign in China "Beware the missing foot" which was on a hillside.
Elyse2u | Nov 28, 2012, 09:05 AM EST
I am familiar with this sign but it is not situated beside any cliffs. It is in fact placed at the extreme end of Dingle pier. Although there are no protective barriers whatsoever at the edge of the pier, nevertheless cars are permitted to drive right to the per's end. The graphic of the sign is so blatant because to drive back from the pier's end a car must reverse - I assure you my heart was in my mouth on a few occasions as a passenger. It is truly dangerous. Another reason why the sign is so graphic is because there are so many tourists using the pier because there is a large settled population from Germany and other non-English speaking European countries. Interestingly, amongst people who are familiar with the pier, the sign has never appeared to be funny. Perhaps you would need to drive there to understand why.
Towngate | Nov 28, 2012, 07:12 AM EST
cathy: I'm sure you are getting a clear 'sign' from these comments and are enjoying them. Ireland is notorious for it's abysmal roadsigns. They claim they don't need them as they already know where they are! If Ireland's decline continues; the car in the sign will have to be replaced by a donkey and cart. Now, there's a bit more paddywhackery to be going on with ....(Nice one,Bock...).
misneac | Nov 27, 2012, 09:46 PM EST
What is bizarre or "hilarious " about about this sign ! It states visually that if you drive over the the cliff you are in the sea .Whats your stupid problem ? It is an excellent sign and capable of getting any drivers attention .What kind of stupid people are you anyway ?
Daithiosu8 | Nov 27, 2012, 08:02 PM EST
Joke's on you. There is nothing wrong or funny about this sign. It is on pier with no guard rail (like most functional piers) and simply warns about not driving close to the edge. Duh!
Willipotts | Nov 27, 2012, 04:31 PM EST
Having spent two weeks in Ireland recently I again found road signage horrible to nonexistent especially in the cities. For a country which says it wants tourist and visitors that's a real contradiction. "The Gathering" is a real joke because of the poor signage!
Nedran Broc | Nov 27, 2012, 02:52 PM EST
1. It's not a cliff - it is a pier. 2. The sign is a warning sign not a directive 3. It appears all over Ireland 4. Only an idiot wouyld think it is an invitation.
Bocktherobber | Nov 27, 2012, 12:56 PM EST
Cathy's not in the least surprised because as usual, Cathy did no research. If she had done a little bit of research, Cathy would have found out that this is a common sign across Europe. Never let the facts get in the way of the paddywhackery, eh, Cathy?
Mousemess | Nov 27, 2012, 11:17 AM EST
Dingle = An Daingean County Kerry = Conndae Chiarrai Hayes surname for male = O hAodha Hayes surname for female = Ni Aodha
Mousemess | Nov 27, 2012, 11:09 AM EST
Towngate, Anyone with half a brain can figure out that it means stay away from the edge of the cliff with your car and that intelligent people speaking different languages including English and Gaeilge (Irish) from anywhere in the world can figure this sign out.
Towngate | Nov 27, 2012, 10:39 AM EST
Cathy,you naughty girl! You know this sign is not unique to Ireland, but is common to many dockside and water-edge danger spots throughout Europe; and even examples in America too! ~~~~ I'd hate to think of Americanvisitors to Ireland taking this sign as an instruction!