No Rickshaws

I read a great article in the newspaper today entitled, "Public Literature." Like most people I love a strange sign or a weird bumper sticker. The way we communicate to each other in public is very interesting and becoming more prevalent with the Internet. However I had never thought of it as public literature, quite a provocative idea, and an opportunity to create a new tag on the blog.

My first entry is one of my all time favorite signs. When I was in Bangladesh I saw this sign a couple of times in the embassy neighborhood, what might qualify as an upscale neighborhood in Dacha, easily the poorest place I have ever been. They want to keep rickshaws out because they cause huge traffic jams and they are the transportation mode of the poor. The first thing you learn from this sign is that the red slash is universal. The second thing, and the thing that makes this sign so funny, unfortunately you can't see, but there are about 10 rickshaws sitting right underneath it. Signs are worthless in Bangladesh. No one stops for stop signs, or stop lights or follows speed limits. The biggest joke was the no car horns sign outside the hotel. I think that only made them honk louder.