Sign of the times. Unfortunately for the people hoarding toilet paper during the coronavirus outbreak, toilet paper does absolutely nothing to protect you from coronavirus. Read the rest

I removed the last of the ancient wooden boards attached randomly to joists and walls in our basement and piled it all in the yard ready for disposal. A heap of split, splintered rusty-nailed junk caked in decades of paint and grime. So it stayed almost for a week, before Heather noticed some writing on one beneath the filth.

Naturally, it had to be saved: pulled from the pile, denailed, two lengthwise cracks woodglued, cut down to the interesting part, cleaned with detergent and oxalic acid, sealed and lacquered. Very proud of myself! I bet I could get $5 for it on Etsy.

The Delco Light company was well-known for electrifying farms back in the day and ended up a GM subsidiary, living on to this day as two syllables of an auto parts brand.

Our find was probably the side of a wooden box that the house's original 1920s-era electrics were delivered in.

Read the rest

When Eunice Adekemi Olamijuwon was transfered from her job as nursing leader at Wesley Guild Hospital in Osun, Nigeria, her staff celebrated by hanging a (now-viral) banner calling her a "mischievous tyrant" and accusing her of a litany of sins, from "arrogance" to "power intoxication" to "sadism" and "witch hunting." Read the rest

The Pulp Librarian tweeted a fun history of Letraset's rub-on lettering sheets. Launched in 1959, the dry transfer letters transformed DIY design and publishing, from 'zines to record albums! Below are a few of the tweets. Click here for the whole thread!

Davis and Mackenzie – both experienced designers – created Letraset as a cheaper alternative to phototypesetting, to help speed up the design process. From humble beginnings in an old factory behind Waterloo station Letraset eventually swept across the design world! pic.twitter.com/jZsHV6Jjc2

— Pulp Librarian (@PulpLibrarian) July 25, 2019

In 1961 Letraset adopted the dry transfer process: letters screenprinted onto a polythene sheet were sprayed over with adhesive. You placed the sheet over the paper and used a pencil to rub over the letter, which detached from the carrier sheet and stuck to the paper. Sometimes. pic.twitter.com/nVV19tozTX

— Pulp Librarian (@PulpLibrarian) July 25, 2019

South Indian indie publishing house Blaft Publications has tweeted a magnificent thread of hand-painted transportation signs from Kolkata and all around South Bengal, from taxi-door logos to bus-signs to danger signs to "for hire" signs. Read the rest

The Council for Education and Research on Toxics (CERT) is a nonprofit that kicked off its mysterious existence by filing a string of lawsuits against restaurant chains and coffee roasters for not posting California Proposition 65 notices (the notices are mandatory warnings about the presence of "chemicals known to the state of California to cause cancer and reproductive toxicity") despite the disputed science behind their demands. Read the rest

Just look at it.

(Thanks, Anon Reader!) Read the rest

Mitch Wagner attended an Intel press and analyst event today where he spotted these notices "posted discreetly in a couple of places on the walls": at first glance, they seem like your garden-variety abusive bullshit release ("Abandon hope all ye who enter here") but there's a decidedly Vessel-esque clause that seems to be saying that Intel claims the copyright in any photo or video in which any of the event appears, even "distorted in character or form, throughout the world, in all media now known or hereafter invented." This is some next-level bullshit. Read the rest

A woman in Virginia saw the same group of four numbers, 1-0-3-1, "a couple of times during the day" and decided it was a sign. She went with her gut, bought 20 lottery tickets choosing those same numbers, and then, feeling really good about it, bought another 10 tickets. Using her instincts paid off big.

According to AP, Deborah Brown, who "nearly had a heart attack" after winning, won $5,000 for each ticket, giving her a grand total of $150,000.

She plans to use the money to renovate her house. Read the rest

Vanishing Vernacular: Western Landmarks collects Steve Fitch's important photographic record of iconic imagery in the western United States: hotel neon, drive-in movie theaters, even ancient petroglyphs. Read the rest

As posted to YouTube by Nate Gowdy, this gentleman appropriates a counter-protestor's sign and makes strenuous efforts to rip it up. But it's a fancy thick one and he lacks the strength or technique to do the job. Watching him wither under the sarcastic commentary and recording cameras of nearby libs will never not be funny.

You've worked so hard, you're so close," a woman filming the painful failure is heard saying. "You've been doing a lot of arm work at the gym, right? You know, this is a very educated city, there are a lot of engineers in this city… you can get a lot of help."

He's definely not mad online about his experience, too.

And to think he'd spent so much time building up the strength that failed him! [via emotional support turtle]

Antifa was indeed watching. Read the rest

In Montreal, Quebec, Gérald Collard and the Atelier Neon Family create intricate works of neon. Here's how they make that magical glow. (via Uncrate)

Read the rest

This is a problem as I will be flying there shortly to visit my family.

Hoping it's just a software glitch on the Chicago Transit Authority station sign.

(via r/softwaregore) Read the rest

The Welcome Your Neighbors sign is being manufactured by printers across America, as the idea, started by Immanuel Mennonite Church in Harrisonburg, VA, spreads across the country. Read the rest

Bloomberg Asia journalist David Ramli tweeted this photo of a bicep-mounted anti-pollution filter for joggers, displayed on the wall of a Beijing subway station, the day after Beijing posted record pollution levels, 24X the WHO recommendations, with 24 other cities issuing red alerts. (via JWZ) Read the rest

Last weekend, your social media feed might have featured this photo of beggars sleeping on a pavement in Mumbai, in front of a Trump Tower billboard emblazoned "There is only one way to live. The Trump Way." Read the rest

Battle is a town in East Sussex, England. Battle has a railway station. A pilfered road sign directing travelers to Battle Station is currently £23.95 on eBay. "This deserves a good home" writes Ben Goldacre. Read the rest