Washroom sign, Dayle's Department Store, Amherst

Don’t you just love it when you encounter a sign somewhere that shows someone’s personality? I do. This sign, for example, is on the inside of the door of the toilet cubicle at Dayle’s Department Store in Amherst, Nova Scotia. Dayle’s is a classic department store, very old, with all kinds of treats inside, things I don’t see in box stores. I love the big wooden staircase. No, the plumbing is not as modern as Sears, I guess – but follow the rules and you will be fine!

Signs are usually so impersonal and authoritarian – they apply to all and come from Them, The Man, Big Brother, The Top. That’s why quirky signs are so enchanting. There is no person in sight, just the sign, handwritten or computer generated, but the quirky sign immediately puts me into a person-to-person universe and makes me smile.

On the same recent trip to Nova Scotia, my boyfriend and I encountered this sign at the top of Cape D’Or inside a hut that had information and a bathroom. The brochures weren’t messed up when we were there, but for sure, I would have tidied them!

Sign at Cape D'Or Hut

*Note: if you can’t read these signs, click once on them to see larger versions and use the “back” key to return to the post.