19 November, 2010

Look out!



My friend Yoel (remember him?) was at the Dead Sea recently. Lucky him! And lucky all of us... he brought me back a sign! Check this out:




Wowee. Now granted, the Hebrew word tovani used here is a little tricky to translate - it comes from the root "drown," but would really be translated as boggy, or swampy. Kind of "drownable," if you will. Actually, come to think of it, chol tovani is quicksand - I wonder if that's what they're trying to say. Hmm. Well, whatever it is they're warning us about, it certainly is not drawning mud. Put in a little effort, guys, please? This is seemingly a potentially lifesaving sign - doesn't it warrant a quick dictionary look-up? Oh, I guess not :)


I also like the "Attention!!!" used here. First off, this was apparently written by someone who just loves exclamation points. But still, wouldn't "Danger!" "Warning!" or "Look Out!" be more appropriate here? Are we calling attention to the mud? Or are we asking the mud to stand at attention?


All in all, an excellent specimen - thank you, Yoel! And have a great week, everyone!

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