Fun with Signs is back (again)!

A few years ago, when we moved into our current work building, I had some anonymous fun with the directional signs on my floor. My fake signs attracted quite a bit of notice and speculation on who was doing it. I even attracted a copycat who started putting up random, and not really funny, signs. After about eight months I stopped doing it.

Anyway, the whole saga can be found in previous posts here.

Last week, spending too many hours in a nearly empty building working during the shutdown, I was inspired. I put the following text into three directional signs on three different floors. I think them appropriate. Of course, few will notice until the shutdown is over.

Fun with Signs - Multimedia

After the ridiculous Tribble prank (there are still "Tribbles" in various places around the floor - I intend to rectify that tomorrow), I finally put up a new sign last week. I think it was inspired.

Fun with Signs - More Weirdness

Apparently not pleased with my lack of sign updates, the Copycat Prankster struck our office early this week in another science-fiction related, nonsensical "prank".

That says "Don't feed the Tribbles" and continues with a quote from Dr. McCoy discussing Tribbles. (If you don't know what a Tribble is, let me explain. No, you should know. If you don't, you should be ashamed.)

There were signs and piles of "Tribbles" on tables in several places around the 5th floor. I made it clear to anyone who asked that I was NOT responsible. It's such a weirdly random thing to do I don't want to be associated.

However, I did do something. While out for lunch I went to CVS and picked up a bag of cotton balls which I then added to one of the piles. I added a bit of a breakfast bar to demonstrate that the Tribbles had been fed. I hope whoever did this appreciated the assist.

Fun with Signs - I'm Back!

It's been a few weeks since I changed the sign, but I came up with a new idea and so snuck it in last week. I don't know how many people have noticed (I had to point out the change to one of my staff), but you would certainly notice how the "Your Ad Here" sign was no longer there.

 And here's the closeup. I like the blatantly juvenile aspect of the text.

Fun with Signs - The End?

After a few weeks of people inexplicably wandering the halls after hours, I finally had a chance to change the sign again. This was intended to be my final one, kind of a plea to pass the torch, but I'm sure no one will actually grab the torch. So I'll change this one when the mood hits me.

     

Fun with Signs - Eternal Wisdom

Here's the current sign. Seems appropriate for a directional sign.

Fun with Signs - A Musical Interlude

Here's the current one. I am due to change it out, but haven't decided on the next yet.

This was inspired by my friend Dave who suggested a sign based on Hotel California. I liked his idea, which made me think of this one.

Fun with Signs - A visual pun

I've tried hard not to repeat myself in the references I've posted on the wall signs.  But a couple of weeks ago, I came up with one that superficially is another Simpson's reference (the first being the Stonecutter's symbol from a few weeks ago that I am pretty sure almost no one figured out). But I enjoyed this idea so much, I went back to the Simpson's well.

Here's what I posted.

The key is the arrow which doesn't point the usual left or right, but down at an angle. What apparently no one at my office could figure out (I listen to them talking in the hall) is that the arrow points out the window at the structures below. Our building is across the street from Housing and Urban Development, which built "flying saucers" in front of their building in the late 1990's. Yes, those weren't built in the 1960's as everyone assumes. They also look a little bit like donuts. It so irritated me that people didn't seem to realize that the arrow pointed to the "donuts" out the window, I actually explained it to a couple of people, saying "that's what I think the sign guy was going for." Sheesh, my genius is unrecognized.

Given an easily identifiable cultural reference, the copycat prankster returned a few days after this was posted to add his touch.

The speech bubble says, in Morse Code, "OIAK". I think he was going for OINK. At least the quality of his graphics has improved. When I changed the sign last Wednesday, I moved the Spider-Pig picture up to the ceiling line, where it rightly belonged.

Fun with Signs - This one is for Carol

Went up last night.

Fun with Signs - We Do!

This has been up for the past week. Pretty sure not too many people figured it out.

Fun with Sings - Verbosity

Last week's Charlotte's Web sign was a big hit. I heard lots of people talking about it with some delight. One of my staff, not knowing that I'm the one doing it, told me that whoever was doing it was going to have a hard time topping it. Great. Just what I need, expectations.

Here's the new one. (Click to embiggen). No one will see it until Tuesday, Monday being a federal holiday.

Fun with Signs - Post Morse Code and the followup

After my Morse code sign went up, the copycat prankster struck back, putting up the following post-it notes, also in Morse Code.

This one says, "Show me the Monkec?" Yes, Monkec. Obviously he was misquoting "Show Me the Money", but I'm not sure if the misquote was deliberate.

This one says "Stand Back?" No idea.

A couple of days later, I decided to directly address the copycat prankster so I put up my own post-it note between his that said, in Morse Code, "WTF?" with arrows pointing to his notes. I really had no idea what he was trying to communicate.

The next day, the sign below was posted. It reads "What next?" "King Kong?" "Star Trek?" I guess this means that he's asking what pop culture reference I am going to make next. Once again, I think the copycat is underestimating my cleverness. I haven't been posting just random pop culture references, but a wide variety of different types of signs. 

A couple of days later, I put up my next sign. Indeed it was a pop culture reference, but I think it's one of my most inspired.

Fun with Signs - Beep, Beep, Beep

Here's the sign I put up last week. Let's see the weird copycat pranker do something with this!

I know of at least one person who translated it by putting it into Google translate. Warning: it's rather literal.

Fun with Signs - Intrigue

After the fun that was "Penguins!", last week I went with something directional. People liked it and the other day I heard someone marveling at how perfect an imitation it was. (Yes, it bothers me that the paper is darker).

This morning, when I arrived at work, I found that my copycat prankster had struck again.

This is, of course, reasonably odd, since it has nothing to do with the signs I'm posting, unlike the earlier Thermal Exhaust Port references. Plus, whoever it was put different Indiana Jones pictures on several different walls throughout the floor (see below). All were low resolution and many were of Lego Indiana Jones. It's like they're trying to compensate for being a copycat by emphasizing quantity over quality.

In a pathetic attempt to distance myself from this lame effort, I mentioned to a couple of people that I think the person doing the sign changes is different from the person putting up the movie pictures. Subtle!

It's time for me to change things up again.  I'll try to get something new up tomorrow.

Fun with Signs - Post Star Wars

As I posted before, my "Thermal Exhaust Port" sign created a copycat. The copycat struck again on Friday when I found pictures posted on the pantry door.

Yes, that's the Millennium Falcon and Serenity from Firefly. And, yes, they are upside down. WTF?

Anyway, I finally had a chance to put up a new sign on Friday and since everyone now understands it's a joke, I went with something a little more whacky.

I'll find out Tuesday what people think.

Fun with Signs - The Plot Thickens

Someone from another shop on my floor came by today to ask about the hallway signs. He went through the history of the changes (indicating that they had figured out that Room 237 referred to The Shining by Googling it) and then suggested that, since the sign was closest to my office, I might be behind it or know who was. I denied it and I think he believed me.

But then he surprised me. He said that two more "signs" had been posted on the floor referencing the thermal exhaust port.

What?!?

It looks like I have a copy cat, or more accurately, someone glomming on to my prank. Down the hall from me, someone taped up two  *laminated* signs on other people's walls.

They're very low quality, but clearly a reference to my hall sign and I DIDN'T DO THESE. Kind of cool, but very odd.

We'll see what happens when I change my sign tomorrow night to a non-Star Wars reference.

Fun with Signs

In April, my shop moved to a new building to consolidate with the rest of our Bureau. My shop had been in the headquarters building on Pennsylvania Ave. for decades, but they wanted to move us and so we moved to the new satellite building.

A couple of weeks ago, wall signs suddenly appeared to direct folk to various features on the floor. I immediately noticed (that's the kind of person I am) that there were two empty slots on the one nearest my office. So, after some experimentation with font and font size, I mocked up a new entry.

Obviously, I didn't quite get the spacing right. Getting the sign apart, sliding the piece out, taking it into my office, putting the new sign in, and putting the whole thing together takes time and I'm trying to do this without anyone seeing. So, the result wasn't optimal.

Still, over the next few days, I could hear people in the hall noticing and talking about it, wondering if we had an aviary and where it was.

The next week, I struck again, and nailed the spacing and font. I didn't want to give up the game yet, so I was subtle with my choice of sign.

Again, people were talking in the hall. They seemed to conclude that the Aviary sign was a mistake, but wondered about Room 237 not having enough digits. I don't think anyone actually got the movie reference.

After being away from work last Friday, I waited until Tuesday evening to change the sign. Infuriatingly, the font seems wrong again. It's too dark. (Maybe someone changed the toner).

I went with a more obvious movie reference this time, figuring that the jig would be up once the sign changed three times. It wasn't until late afternoon that people started to notice. They think someone involved with the building is doing it and "having fun". They're half right.

I have about a dozen more of these, increasingly silly, ready to go.