Fun_People Archive
23 May
More Crossed Signals

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From: Peter Langston <psl>
Date: Thu, 23 May 96 13:10:14 -0700
To: Fun_People
Subject: More Crossed Signals

[For the non-Seattle-area Fun_People: during last year's moment of Mariner  
baseball mania, many people joined the crowd spirit by displaying signs that  
said "Refuse to Lose" in shop and automobile windows, on T-shirts, etc.   
-psl]

Forwarded-by: joev@halcyon.com

Seattle Times Columnist Jean Godden reports in her column of 5/22/96 that
a group of Japanese tourists were stumped by the ubiquitous "Refuse To Lose"
signs dotting shop windows thoroughout town.

Consulting their phrase books, the travellers found that the word "refuse"
can be translated either as "to decline politely" or "garbage". Hence their
twin hypotheses: the signs either meant: "don't try to rob this building"
(deprive the residents of their possessions) or "please pick up the garbage"
(we have plenty to spare, thank you very much).

© 1996 Peter Langston