Signs and Notices 13

These are supposedly actual signs that have appeared at various locations.

• In a Hong Kong supermarket: "For your convenience, we recommend courteous, efficient self-service."
• At fast-food place: "PARKING FOR DRIVE-THRU CUSTOMERS ONLY!"
• Outside a Hong Kong tailor shop: "Ladies may have a fit upstairs."
• In a Rhodes tailor shop: "Order your summer suit. Because in big rush we will execute customers in strict rotation."
• From the Soviet Weekly: "There will be a Moscow Exhibition of Arts by 15,000 Soviet Republic painters and sculptors. These were executed over the past two years."
• In an East African newspaper: "A new swimming pool is rapidly taking shape since the contractors have thrown in the bulk of their workers."
• In a Vienna hotel: "In case of fire, do your utmost to alarm the hotel porter."
• In an advertisement by a Hong Kong dentist: "Teeth extracted by the latest Methodists."

Japanese Banks

According to inside contacts, the Japanese banking crisis shows no signs of letting up. If anything, it's getting worse.  Following last week's news that Origami Bank had folded, we are hearing that Sumo Bank has gone belly up, and Bonsai Bank plans to cut back some of its branches. Karaoke Bank is up for sale, and it is (you guessed it!) going for a song.  Meanwhile, shares in Kamikaze Bank have nose-dived, and 500 back-office staff at Karate Bank got the chop. Analysts report that there is something fishy going on at Sushi Bank, and staff there fear they may get a raw deal.

I.R.S. Parking Tickets

The following is supposedly a true story. To be included, besides being true, the story is most likely strange, weird, surprising, or funny.
Boston Globe, April 13, 1990 "Is there justice in this world?"
Well, in Jacksonville, Fla., an Internal Revenue Service car parked outside the federal courthouse was "booted" for unpaid parking tickets, forcing tax collectors to fork over $122.50 to set it free. The IRS had to pay $95 for five tickets, a $25 removal fee plus $2.50 for processing to get the boot taken off, said Gertrude Bradley, clerical supervisor for the city parking division. With the tax-filing deadline closing in, courthouse employees were chuckling about the IRS' misfortune. But the agency was not amused. "We're not pleased with it," said spokesman Holger Euringer. Yeah, we're all really upset.