It's been a while since the last search for Signs of Intelligent Life, but a recent trip to Poland has led to a new SOIL. They do things a bit differently in Poland:

For instance, they honored America's first president by naming a street after him. However, they don't know how to spell his name. At all.

You might think this was a warning to watch for children near the street. It turns out it's actually an alert for diabetics, tipping them off to the presence of small girls with ludicrously oversized lollipops.

I managed to repeatedly read this incorrectly as "Pies!". Apparently, this is a pedestrian warning sign, with Piesi being Polish for "Pedestrians". That's far less exciting than the thought of delicious rhubarb pie, and really, not at all deserving of an exclamation point.

Caution: Man moving triangles! Possibly with a pizza peel!

Ultimately, though amusing, these signs aren't actually unintelligent. The real lack of intelligence rests with the non-native who couldn't speak the language. Sometimes, the most rewarding searches are those which cause us to look inward and discover something about ourselves. That, or those which lead to the discovery of buried treasure or something. Those are pretty rewarding too.

The never-ending quest for Signs Of Intelligent Life (SOIL) continues. During a trip to SXSW, the valet stand outside the hotel had this sign:

Austin really is weird: they tax only overnight parking, not daily parking.

The real issue is there seems to be all kinds of unnecessary capitalization here: "Vehicles, unattended Vehicles or Vandals". I suppose it's possible Austin is infested with the Germanic people who ravaged Gaul, Spain, and North Africa in the 4th–5th centuries and sacked Rome in 455 AD. If that is in fact the case, Marriott would definitely want to insulate themselves from liability.

Assuming the capitalization is incorrect, however, it seems the hotel is not responsible for items left in vehicles, items left in unattended vehicles, or items left in vandals.

You're a valet service. You've got nothing but unattended vehicles!

Update: Reader Stephen G. shared the following:

"My wife is a tax attorney so I now know way too much about this stuff. The tax for overnight parking is because they're assuming that if you're parking overnight, then you have a room at the hotel. In that case the parking fee is part of your room rate, which in texas is taxable. Basically, because Texas refuses to have a state income tax we have lots of extra/weird taxes worked into our everyday lives."

The more you know.

There are many signs in the world. At their best, signs are easy to comprehend, helpful, and informative. Often times, however, they are not. These hilariously flawed signs are the ones I seem to find most often, in my never-ending quest for signs of intelligent life.

Be sure to click to see the full-size images.

[Photo credit: Katie Smillie]

"Oooooooooooh!"

[Photo credit: Katie Smillie]

In hindsight, I'm sure it seems obvious that this would be far more popular than the original dead pony ride concept. But business is all about experimenting to find what works.

I'll be the first to admit, this is not always the most mature quest. But if you didn't giggle at that a bit, you've got no soul.

Have you spotted a great sign yourself? Send a photo my way.