Wherever...
China. India. Mesopotamia. Central Europe. Nile. Africa, Meso-America, North America.
Wherever.
What would you suggest as a 'stay the fuck out' sign?
You've got a fenced area. However large.
You want other nomadic people to stay out of your fenced claim.
How would you mark it?
What would you suggest as a 'stay the fuck out' sign?
For something language independent and near universal, posts topped with human skulls.
I've just seen a humorous sign shared on social media. The company used skulls and crossbones alongside the wording.
That raises the question of whether the skull and crossbones is innate to human culture or a learned artifice.
AJ
What would you suggest as a 'stay the fuck out' sign?
One I've actually seen: "Trespassers will be violated!"
Without writing, the only way to alert other nomads to the danger is pictorially. An image of a dangerous predatory animal would probably be discouraging but not insurmountable if the nomads feel the rewards might be worth the risk. But an image conveying ill health if the nomads trespass would invoke one of mankind's most primal fears.
AJ
Junior high, visit to a dairy, 10% of the boys had to try out the electric fence with fingers, sticks and pieces of straw. If the girls weren't watching I'm sure one of the class clowns would have tried peeing on it.
Kipling was right:
As it will be in the future, it was at the birth of Man
There are only four things certain since Social Progress began.
That the Dog returns to his Vomit and the Sow returns to her Mire,
And the burnt Fool's bandaged finger goes wabbling back to the Fire;
And that after this is accomplished, and the brave new world begins
When all men are paid for existing and no man must pay for his sins,
As surely as Water will wet us, as surely as Fire will burn,
The Gods of the Copybook Headings with terror and slaughter return!
A bio-hazaerd sign? Radioactive?
Humanity doesn't react well to signs. A considerable portion of humanity sees them as a challenge, rather than as a warning.
The most obvious example is electrical sub-stations. Big high fences and a plethora of warning signs, yet still people consistently decide to become crispy fried human.
Dangerous unstable cliffs? The more signs you put up, the more people fall down them.
Minefields? I've personally seen people walk past them (signs) into live areas.
Zoo's- Don't feed the animals, and yet...
To answer the question of what's a "stay the fuck out' sign?" I don't think such a thing exists. Especially if 'beer' continues to exist.
Don't piss on the electric fence.
From today's Arlene and Jeff chapter ...
..."Certainly," Arlene responded, "but please don't either of you touch it. The AI can become quite persnickety, and he has the means to back up his displeasure."
"You have a functioning artificial intelligence?" Karl asked.
"Please don't mention it around him. I think he is trying to find a way to become a citizen," Arlene returned with a chuckle.
"Uh, I won't," Karl responded, not quite sure if Arlene were kidding or not.
Both Karl and Fischer thanked Arlene and hurried off the deck to check out the interceptor.
"You were kidding them about your aircraft, right?" Mia asked.
"Don't worry. He'll warn them first," Ann answered before Arlene could.
.....
There was a "sssssswhap" sound as static electricity found its way to ground, accompanied by a startled yelp from one of the men who had gone to inspect Arlene and Ann's interceptor.
The women tensed, and Mia came to her feet, but Arlene and Ann were chuckling. "Looks like someone forgot what I said about not touching the interceptor."
What would you suggest as a 'stay the fuck out' sign?
Instead of a fence, build a large transparent box inside the fence. Fit it with airlocks and microphones with powerful speakers on the top.
The sign at the entry should read;
"This box contains a powerful truth serum in gaseous form."
Place the box in Washington DC
Maybe clarify a few points? Modern age? Prehistoric age? Has cutting edges been invented? Guns?
I think if I saw a pictorial drawing sign of a human with a head separated from body, I would stay away. Or a drawing of a human body with a big hole in middle from a gun pointed at said body, I'd stay away.
My thoughts were of a time before writing was invented, regardless of where the 'civilization' developed.
Some symbol that digs deep into the primal fears of our hind brain and clearly communicates stay away or die.
Some symbol that digs deep into the primal fears of our hind brain and clearly communicates stay away or die.
A picture of a spider should do that for most people, more than a picture of a fire would.
Or a picture of an alien erupting from someone's stomach ;-)
I think you will find that's called 'giving birth', is perfectly natural and not scary at all. Until 'it' hits double digits in age...
A picture of a spider should do that for most people, more than a picture of a fire would.
My daughter, a STEM scholar, who is a high school chemistry and marine biology teacher, loves alligators, snakes, lizards, etc, but a spider will lead her to climb on top of a chemistry lab station and call for help!
I like spiders. But centipedes and millipedes give me the creeps. I have no idea why.
FIRE! In the movie Planet of the Apes, a Wall of Fire kept everyone out of the Forbidden Zone for more than a hundred years. Even though it turned out to be an illusion.
Charlton Heston wasn't deterred, but characters like him are exceptional (or they have "Plot Armor").
So, a giant WALL of FIRE; Ideally too high, and too thick for an ordinary person to jump over, or rush through should work.
Alternatively, a desolate strip 3 to 5 kilometers wide contaminated with persistent, lethal, chemical agents should keep out trespassers. Agents that corrode protective suits/boots, and clog or dissolve mask filters.
A forbidding wall, stretching high into the sky and extending to the horizon in all directions. Every mile there is an open doorway with an endless line of souls stretching from just inside at a counter, to the horizon outside.
Above each door is a large sign: "Department of Motor Vehicles Licensing"
A series of pairs of warning signs.
The first a yellow diamond with a picture of a giant turtle. (magic turtle crossing)
The second a yellow diamond showing the same giant turtle with a red cone coming from it's head. (magic turtles breath fire)
