Over the years I’ve collected a lot of images, signs mostly, that warn of potential calamities. No doubt created by the beleaguered graphic artists of the world, these images do their best to warn of lurking dangers, sometimes within the most seemingly mundane of items or places. Mostly restricted to nonverbal communication, the signs capture the moment when disaster befalls the hapless. To me, there is something gripping and weirdly funny in the pratfalls of these humans, who are mostly represented by the familiar male restroom icon, busting out of his stiff I-g0t-to-pee pose to tumble, crumble and roll in a pre-emergency room visit tableau.

(THOUGH, the guy getting zapped above has a distinctive 70’s flare –nice bells!– a level of style not commonly found in universal iconography. But this image is from Paris, after all, where apparently you really can ‘go’ in style…)

Since many these photos were shot while I, or one of my like-minded pals, was on vacation, I connected these images to the cheery missives sent by holiday makers and created some postcard text to compliment the image:

Send me your suggestions for postcard text for this image and I’ll post them here on Monday

…and another image from my collection of calamities.

Until then… “Let’s be careful out there.”