A World Without Signs
“Let’s Get Lost” – A compelling thought. Until you find yourself truly, utterly lost.
Imagine driving through the bountiful state of Montana with your best friend, who also doubles as your sleeping co-pilot. She’s not too helpful in the navigation department.
While singing along to “Long Cool Woman,” you find yourself in awe of the mountains, the wildlife, and the abundance of trees. It’s a flatlander’s paradise.
Then, it hits you all at once: “Welcome to Idaho”
That is, in fact, not your destination and you’re late for your family reunion – in Montana. This is a true story, to my dismay.
What did I do now, you may ask? Panicked.
I lost all sense of adventure and abruptly woke my friend from her calm slumber. Once all of her senses were in order and she realized where I had led us, she summoned the one person we knew wouldn’t fail us: Siri. The robot, who in fact is not a person at all, living in your phone to help you in these desperate times.
“In four miles, take Exit 68. Keep left to merge onto I15 heading West towards Bozeman.” And just like that we were back in action. Now, imagine you didn’t have signs. Where is Exit 68? What is I15? Where are all of the mile markers?!
Fortunately for us, it was easy to get back on track with the help of our pal, Siri. But Siri would be nothing without the helpful, preventative indications that can be found at Office Sign Company – signs. A world without them would lead to a plethora of people actually living their favorite “Let’s Get Lost” motto.
Now, ending up in Idaho is an extreme example of what could happen in a sign-less world. But it can happen! After all, I did it with road markings in plain sight. Though many are more navigationally inclined than others, that’s not to say a world without signs would be easy. Lemony Snicket (the author of famous children’s novels A Series of Unfortunate Events) could write a sequel based on the problems we would encounter without signage to guide us.
Behold:
1.) A “pull” door that you assume to be a “push.” We’ve all been there, and you may feel that one in the morning – both physically and with your pride.
2.) Walking into the cafeteria to find yourself in “Procedure Room 1A.” Suddenly you’ve lost your appetite.
3.) No one shows up to your yard sale.
4.) Ever been on a less-than-stellar date? Exit Signs are important.
5.) Continually parking in a “No Parking Zone” – hence the reason you’re broke.
6.) Missing the event completely because no one can find the registration.
7.) Apologizing to the firefighters profusely because, “I couldn’t find the fire extinguisher!!”
8.) Ever tried looking for a bathroom without a sign? May the odds be ever in your favor with that one.
Fortunately, Office Sign Company offers a variety of products to guide us to any building, conference room, and medical room. As for road markings? Us flatlanders are pretty lucky. We can see for miles onto the next sign to lead us to our destination. Even in a world without signs there would always be a Fargoan happy to guide you to the Enchanted Highway or even the best Bison tailgating spots.
As much as we love adventures and “getting lost,” we find ourselves subconsciously thankful for those signs to lead us to where we need to be. Office Sign Company is here to ensure the sequel to A Series of Unfortunate Events is left unwritten.
As for me, I took the road less traveled by and ended up in Idaho. Everyone wants to get lost – not everyone wants to take that road to get there.
Photos by: Lilly Cristy and Bri Lee
Written by: Rylee Wznick
Contact at: rylee@officesigncompany.com
