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These Clever Signs Turn Streets Into A Comedy Club (9 Photos)
Content warning: Which one is your favorite?
Ever feel like the street is trying to tell you something funny? These clever signs turn streets into a comedy club. We found these gems in cities around the world. Each one is a quick hit of humor. You will see a dog library, a Star Wars joke, and even a plea for a missing snail. This collection has everything from bees to Lionel Richie. Scroll through and enjoy the walk.
More!: Funny Signs (20 Photos)
🐝 1. “Pardon the Weeds”
This sign is the perfect excuse for not weeding your garden. You aren’t being lazy. You are just being a hero for the bees. These wild poppies look much better than a boring lawn anyway.
🇺🇸 2. “All Americans Must Be Accompanied”
A little friendly banter for our friends from across the ocean. This shop owner has a very specific rule for tourists. Safety first when you are exploring a new country.
🐕 3. “Dog Library”
Finally, a library where you are allowed to chew on the books. This is every dog’s dream come true. Take a stick and leave one for your furry friends. It is a very wholesome system.
🐌 4. “Gary, Come Home”
If you know this snail, you know the pain. This SpongeBob reference is a classic. We hope Gary saw the sign and found his way back to Bikini Bottom.
🌳 5. “Don’t Buy Cages. Plant Trees.”
This is a simple way to get more music in your life. You don’t need batteries or cages. Just plant a tree and wait for the show to start. Nature has the best playlist.
👑 6. “Empires, Kingdoms, Countries”
A clever bit of wordplay on how the world is run. Those pub signs always have the best logic. It makes you think while you wait for your drink.
🎤 7. “Hello? Is It Me…”
If you didn’t sing this in your head, you might be a robot. It is a pop culture classic. Taking a slip of paper has never felt more like a musical performance.
🌌 8. “Luke, I Am Your Father”
Proof that even a ventilation pipe can have a dark side. A simple sticker turns ordinary plumbing into a movie legend. The Force is definitely strong with this one.
☀️ 9. “Free! Take One”
A little bit of sunshine is always free. This is the best thing you can pick up on a morning walk. It is a great way to spread some smiles in the neighborhood.
More!: Funny Signs (12 Photos)
Which one is your favorite?
Funny Signs (20 Photos)
Some public signs tell you where to go or what to do. These ones? They play with expectations. From witty chalkboards and absurd flyers to poetic instructions and signs that lead nowhere, these 20 messages prove that a little humor or mystery goes a long way in urban spaces.
More: How Clever (8 Photos)
1. Take What You Need
A simple handwritten flyer reads “Love.” with an invitation: “(Take as much love as you need).” The tear-off tabs just say “LOVE.”
2. Lost My Brain
A satirical lost-and-found flyer features a red anatomical brain diagram and a caption: “Please don’t contact me, I’m happy.”
3. Bar Scene on a No Entry Sign
A creative modification of a no-entry traffic sign transforms the white bar into a bar counter. Three stick figures have been drawn onto the sign—one sitting on a bar stool holding a martini glass, chatting with two others standing beside the “counter.” This humorous intervention turns an ordinary traffic sign into a social vignette.
4. No King
5. Sleeping Bat Warning
Sign on a bookshop door says “Please open the door carefully as there is a bat sleeping on it,” with a real bat sleeping by the doorframe.About it: A Sleeping Bat at The Next Page Bookshop in Calgary Becomes an Unlikely Star
6. Showbiz Ruined Me — By Pao in Rome, Italy
A sculpture of SpongeBob looks heartbroken, sitting on the street with a cardboard sign: “Showbiz ruined me.”
7. Dog Library
A wooden sign beneath a tree offers: “Dog Library. Take a stick. Leave a stick.” The pile of branches says it all.
8. Have You Seen This Dog?
Two dog photos and the words: “Have you seen this dog?” Below: “Now you have. Have a GOOD day.” The tear-tabs? “Have a great day.”
9. Please Do Not Smile — New York City Subway, USA
Posted at 14th Street Station: “Please do not smile at strangers.” Whether real or a prank, it’s coldly hilarious.
10. Private Sign
Painted in bold white letters: “PRIVATE SIGN — DO NOT READ.” Naturally, it’s irresistible.
11. The Secret of Happiness
Painted across a long building, the message begins: “The secret of happiness is t—” and then the rest has peeled away.
12. Reboot Universe
At first glance, a standard pedestrian crossing button. But instead of “PUSH TO CROSS,” it reads: “REBOOT UNIVERSE.”
13. Beware of Smartphone Zombies
A modern caution sign warns: “BEWARE OF SMARTPHONE ZOMBIES,” with silhouettes of people walking while staring at their phones.
14. No Don Quixote
A traffic-style sign bans a rider on a horse with a lance—clearly referencing Don Quixote. Behind it: a real windmill.
15. Great Wheat Sharks — Anne Melady in Ontario, Canada
Shark fins appear to slice through a golden wheat field along Highway 8 west of Dublin, Ontario. Installed by 75-year-old landowner and retired nurse Anne Melady, the piece is titled Great Wheat Sharks. She created it to lighten the mood for drivers during the pandemic and continues the now-local tradition with humor and simplicity.More photos and about it: Please do not feed the Great Wheat Sharks
16. Is It Me You’re Looking For?
A flyer with the face of Lionel Richie and the lyrics from his hit song “Hello” is posted on a utility pole. The bottom of the flyer includes tear-off tabs, each printed with a different lyric fragment, playfully inviting passersby to take one. The setup mimics a typical “lost and found” poster but twists it into a street-level pun.
17. Kingdoms to Countries
On a pub chalkboard: “A long time ago we had Empires run by Emperors. Then we had Kingdoms run by Kings. Now we have Countries…”
18. Accompanied by an Adult
The sign boldly says: “All Americans must be accompanied by an adult.” No context. No problem.
19. Cigarette bin that doubles as a voting booth…
and a political roast all in one. People walk by, chuck in a butt, and suddenly it’s not just litter — it’s democracy with extra sass.
20. The Japanese text (ネコ飛出し注意) translates to “Watch out for jumping cats” or more literally “Caution: Cats dashing out”.
It’s a local road sign sometimes put up in Japanese neighborhoods where there are many stray or outdoor cats. The flying-cat graphics are just a playful way to show that cats might suddenly run across the street, so drivers should slow down and be careful.More: Urban Art Hacks (11 Photos)
Which one is your favorite?
Street Art Pop Culture (21 Photos)
Content warning: Swedish street artist Herr Nilsson is known for blending pop culture with a rebellious twist. His works take familiar cartoon characters and place them in unexpected, often subversive situations. From childhood nostalgia to dark humor. Below are 21 photos
Swedish street artist Herr Nilsson is known for blending pop culture with a rebellious twist.
His works take familiar cartoon characters and place them in unexpected, often subversive situations. From childhood nostalgia to dark humor. Below are 21 photos of his street art along with a short interview.
More like this: Lisa Simpson and R2-D2? EFIX’s Clever Street Art Will Make You Look Twice
1.
Interview with Herr Nilsson:
When, how and why did you become an artist?
I was pretty young when I found out that I was good at expressing myself in drawings, most often much better than in spoken words. I spend a lot of time drawing and when I was about 21 years old I decided to aim for the goal of being a professional artist.
2.
“Another doomed paradise” in Gili Air, Indonesia.
How do you see your role as an artist today?
To make people have a good laugh and start to think critical to norms at the same time. I want my art works to be like punches with a smile, hard and precise, but in a fun and good way. In contrast to all the visual commercials I like to do visual mind benders.
3.
“(R)evolution” in Ljusdal, Sweden for the show “Humans you are fucked”.
How would you describe your working method?
I’m almost constantly trying new ideas, sketching them in my mind until they are pretty much done, then I realize them in a painting or a sculpture. Most often I experiment with two strong symbolic things or characters that convey totally different messages. And then, when I put these two together in a painting or sculpture, the new meaning conveys something totally different. Something I would like to share with my audience.
4.
“Humans you are fucked”
Can you name some contemporary works of art or projects that inspire you?
Fat Porsche – Erwin Wurm
Pepsi Cola – Lana del Rey (Rick Nowels / Elizabeth Grant)
Piss Christ – Andres Serrano
Banksy – Napalm and Dismaland
Yoko Ono – Instruction paintings
Caravaggio – All of his paintings. I know he’s not contemporary but the story of his life is very fascinating and his painting skills were the best.
5.
“Snow White Robbery” on Tranebergsbron, Stockholm, Sweden.
How can artists be paid for their work and at the same time maintain a critical attitude towards the commercial art market and public funding partners?
Most often you can say “f*ck you” to people if you can laugh about it together. The collectors that buy my art, at least those that I have had the chance to talk to, are all persons that like critical thinking and satire. Provocative art is not for everybody but there are a lot of people out there that like it.
Sometimes you are lucky and get a win-win situation together with the client. For example my latest art work, the sculpture of Ariel is entirely constructed out of rubbish from Lake Mälaren. It was sold to a Swedish entrepreneur, Konrad Bergström, founder of a company, X Shore, which builds electrical boats. He has a strong interest in the environment and the waters in particular. All rubbish that the sculpture of Ariel is built from was retrieved by the non-profit organization Rena Mälaren that specializes in retrieving debris from the bottom of the lake. Konrad payed me a good amount of money for the sculpture and then I give back a major part of that income to Rena Mälaren to finance their ongoing work, and then I can finance constructing more sculptures and so on. I find this cycle being very good for all participants.
6.
“Sleeping Beauty under the Bridge” in Stockholm, Sweden.
What would you like to change in the street art world?
More and more cities around the world are commissioning big murals at boring buildings and many artists can make their living on this. This is very good of course. But it is also a trend that these murals are almost always made to be decorative and nice to everybody, like the music on a big commercial radio station. Without any provocative or critical thinking concepts at all, this street art will be nothing more than generic. I would say that I wish that the clients could be a little bit braver when they commissioned these murals.
The good part is of course that all of us still can do street art works without permission and stay free in our creativity.
Herr Nilssons socials: Webpage // Instagram // Facebook
7.
Cinderella in Stockholm, Sweden.
8.
“Closed by Reality” at Snösätra in Stockholm, Sweden.
9.
“Fill the world with sunshine” at Tranebergsbron, Alvik, Stockholm, Sweden.
10.
In Snösätra, Stockholm, Sweden.
11.
“Close up at Sailing” in Stockholm, Sweden.
12.
“I drank all the booze and I feel fantastic” in Stockholm, Sweden.
13.
“Hair Day” in Bromsten, Stockholm, Sweden.
14.
“Hello. Goodbye” in Stockholm, Sweden.
15.
16.
Ariel from ‘Part Of Your World’.
17.
“Happy Riot” in Vällingby, Sweden.
18.
“Laundry Day” in Spånga, Stockholm, Sweden.
19.
Herr Nilsson Villekulla – Self portrait, in Stockholm, Sweden.
20.
Freddie! Early summer vibe in Stockholm.
21.
Yoda: “No spaceships you have? Stop killing planet you must.”
More like this: 90 Pixel Art Masterpieces: Pappas Pärlor’s Perler Bead Street Takeover
Which is your favorite?
EFIX’s Clever Art (9 Photos)
EFIX is a street artist from France who turns ordinary city spaces into fun and creative works of art.
He mixes famous characters from pop culture with clever designs that use parts of the city, like pipes and walls. His art surprises and entertains people walking by. Imagine Lisa Simpson playing a golden pipe as a saxophone or R2-D2 offering flowers to a trash can—that’s the kind of humor and creativity EFIX brings to the streets.More like this: Oakoak’s Genius Street Art Transforms Everyday Urban Scenes (10 Photos)
What makes EFIX’s art special is how he cares for the environment.
He uses biodegradable materials like paper and glue made from sugar and flour. His art is meant to fade away naturally, leaving no damage behind. This makes his work temporary but unforgettable.EFIX is inspired by skateboarding, which helps him see city spaces as places for creativity and fun.
He uses everyday objects like railings, pipes, or bushes to make his art come alive. His goal is to help people look at their surroundings in a new, playful way and to bring out their inner child. For news about him and his artworks follow him on Instagram and visit his website!Here are some of EFIX’s coolest works:
1.
Mario running away from Ninja Turtles sliding down pipes.
2.
R2-D2 giving flowers to a trash can.
3.
Lisa Simpson playing a pipe saxophone.
4.
A firefighter from The Simpsons humorously smoking next to a real fire extinguisher.
5.
Marge Simpson’s hair made from a real bush.
6.
Maggie Simpson with a pacifier integrated from a metal ring on the wall.
7.
Wile E. Coyote!
8.
Homer Simpson relaxing on a railing, surrounded by donuts.
More like this: 87 Perler Beads by Pappas Pärlor
Which one is your favorite?
EFIX 🇫🇷 (@efixworld) • Instagram photos and videos
92K Followers, 2,892 Following, 298 Posts - See Instagram photos and videos from EFIX 🇫🇷 (@efixworld)www.instagram.com
