> Sign on a curio shop in Hong Kong: Teeth extracted by latest Methodists.
>
> Tokyo hotel: It is forbidden to steal hotel towels. If you are not a
> person to do such a thing please do not read this notice.
>
> Leipzig, Germany, elevator: Do not enter the lift backwards, and only
> when it up.
>
> Paris hotel elevator: Please leave your values at the front desk. If you
>
> lose them in your room we are not responsible.
>
> Athens hotel: Visitors are expected to complain at the office between
> the
>
> hours of 9am and 11am daily.
>
> Yugoslavian hotel: The flattening of underwear with pleasure is the job
> of the chambermaid.
>
> Japanese hotel: You are invited to take advantage of the women who are
> employed to clean the rooms.
>
> Moscow hotel: You are welcome to visit the cemetary where famous Russian
>
> and Soviet composers, artists and writers are buried daily except
> Thursday.
>
> Hong Kong Tailor Shop: Ladies may have a fit upstairs.
>
> Bangkok dry cleaners: Drop your trousers here for the best results.
>
> Paris dress shop: Elegant dresses designed for street walking.
>
> Rhodes, Greece tailor shop: Order your summer suit. Because of the big
> rush we will execute customers in strict rotation.
>
> Japanese hotel: Cold and Heat: If you want to condition the warm in your
>
> room, please control yourself.
>
> German campsite: It is strictly forbidden on our Black Forest camping
> site that people of different sex, for instance, men and women, live
> together in one tent unless they are married with each other for that
> purpose.
>
> Rome laundry: Ladies, please leave your clothes here and spend the
> afternoon having a good time.
>
> Moscow hotel: If this is your first visit to the U.S.S.R., you are
> welcome to it.
>
> Norwegian lounge: Ladies are requested not to have children in the bar.
>
> Tokyo car rental firm: When passenger with heavy foot is in sight,
> tootle
>
> the horn. Trumpet him melodiously at first, but if he still obstacles
> your passage, then tootle him with vigor.
>
> Acapulco hotel: We are pleased to anounce that the manager has
> personally
>
> passed all the water served here.
>
> TRANSLATED SIGNS
>
> Coors put its slogan, "Turn it loose," into Spanish, where it was read
> as
>
> "Suffer from diarrhea."
>
> Clairol introduced the "Mist Stick," a curling iron, into German only to
>
> find out that "mist" is slang for manure. Not too many people had use
> for
>
> the "manure stick".
>
> Scandinavian vacuum manufacturer Electrolux used the following in an
> American campaign: Nothing sucks like an Electrolux.
>
> The American slogan for Salem cigarettes, "Salem-Feeling Free", was
> translated into the Japanese market as "When smoking Salem, you will
> feel so refreshed that your mind seems to be free and empty."
>
> When Gerber started selling baby food in Africa, they used the same
> packaging as in the US, with the beautiful baby on the label. Later
> they
>
> learned that in Africa, companies routinely put pictures on the label of
>
> what's inside, since most people can't read English.
>
> Colgate introduced a toothpaste in France called Cue, the name of a
> notorious porno magazine.
>
> An American T-shirt maker in Miami printed shirts for the Spanish market
>
> which promoted the Pope's visit. Instead of "I saw the Pope" (el Papa),
> the shirts read "I saw the potato" (la papa).
>
> In Italy, a campaign for Schweppes Tonic Water translated the name into
>
> "Schweppes Toilet Water."
>
> Pepsi's "Come alive with the Pepsi Generation" translated into "Pepsi
> brings your ancestors back from the grave," in Chinese.
>
> Frank Perdue's chicken slogan, "it takes a strong man to make a tender
> chicken" was translated into Spanish as "it takes an aroused man to make
>
> a chicken affectionate."
>
> When Parker Pen marketed a ball-point pen in Mexico, its ads were
> supposed to have read, "it won't leak in your pocket and embarrass you".
>
> Instead, the company thought that the word "embarazar" (to impregnate)
> meant to embarrass, so the ad read: "It won't leak in your pocket and
> make you pregnant".
> |
