The New Boldface...

A while back (March of '05 to be exact), I was on a cruise to Ensenada with my extended Sorensen family. When we arrived in Ensenada I was struck by one thing--and no, it wasn't the "chicle" children--it was the way the native entreprenuers punctuated their street signage to attract tourists. Specifically, they used quotation marks for emphasis, rather than the boldface (or underline or italics).

Cases in point:

*Your name on a "grain" of rice

*Your ticket is "not" refundable

This struck me as hilarious at the time, but unfortunately, no one else in my family was as enamored with the linguistic faux pas. However, when I returned from the trip and shared my findings with John, he shared in the humor with me.

So, fast forward to the present and John's cousin David emails us this link. The author discusses his sign viewing experiences in NYC and documented virtually the same observations that I saw in Mexico. It is satisfying to know that others in the world find humor in common linguistical mistakes just as I do. (Maybe it's not so much satisfying as it is relieving...there are people in the world as nerdy as I am...) Either way, I hope you "enjoy" the article.