There is a business I drive by once or twice a month named “Shay-Pit”. Closer inspection
of the sign reveals the business is a hair salon. And in fact, there is a picture of flowing tresses of hair. But for the first several times I saw the sign, I was perplexed and, only after a few minutes and another reading of the small print, remembered its purpose. But for whatever reason, for me it conjures up pictures of pit bulls fighting to the death. If, however, the sign were worded “Shape It” I would have sooner recognized a salon or maybe a fitness center.
On a recent trip to Maine, we soon realized that cannabis was legal and several
businesses advertised themselves as dispensaries. But others were more creative. We passed “Happy” and “Higher” scattered along the highway.
When we crossed the border into New Brunswick, Canada, we found every sign in both
French and English. This provided a nice review of my long-ago high school French. We knew that Canada has two official languages, English and French. The province of New Brunswick is officially bilingual. That did not prepare us for the sign in our room in a lovely inn. “Please remain the window closed so as to prevent the falling of the air conditioner.” We did indeed remain the window closed and had a lovely stay.