Signs in Singapore
Singapore has certain things it wants its citizens to know, and signs are one way it alerts them. Our university is located next to a secondary-growth rainforest, which also is a live firing range for the Singapore military. So if you venture near the borders of the university you’ll see a sign like the one at the left. They’re serious about keeping you out: the sign’s in the four chief languages of the country – English, Mandarin, Malay and Tamil. And some of the signs have hand-painted camo on the picture of the soldier as well.
There are also signs asking you to be careful of thieves (“Low Crime Doesn’t Mean No Crime”) and to avoid jaywalking posted all over campus, as well as this one at an intersection:
I’m not sure how effective this advice is. But the maximum speed on the freeways is 60 mph (100 kph), and everyone seems to adhere to it; on campus of course the roads wind and are narrow, so it’s pretty safe for pedestrians. But so far my favorite sign in Singapore is the one below on the left:
This is posted at a campground and public park on the east side of the island, where people snack and camp below the lovely coconut trees. I will remind you, if this seems silly, that more people are killed annually by falling coconuts than by shark bites.