Only in Israel - The Chanuka Edition

I tell you, I was looking all week long for a Chanuka related typo. All week! I found lots of breathtaking sunsets, lots of beautiful Menoras, and of course, plenty of Chanuka related paraphernalia. But nothing funny - bizarre, right?

Then last night I was shopping with my youngest daughter. We were waiting in line at our local, classy toy store, when I saw this. No, it doesn't have any English on it, so I couldn't find any funny English typos, but I thought that it was funny nonetheless. Is this possibly sold anywhere but in Israel?

Do you get it? It's a Chanuka gelt machine. Weird, right? I imagine that using it would make me feel all guilty, like a counterfeiter... 

It's possible that I just had gelt on the brain, since my husband has been talking about it all week - starting with this article, before he wrote this one. But either way, I thought this was worth sharing. 

Enjoy the rest of your Chanuka, everyone!

Three cheers for Google!

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I've said it before, and I'll say it again: I love Google! I use plain, everyday Google, I use Gmail, I use Google Docs, and lots more. My verdict: they're all super-fantastic. Really! 

But one of the best Google apps, in terms of entertainment value, is Google Translate. It comes up with some of the goofiest translations, ever. It's sometimes quite helpful, and sometimes just awful, and you never really know which one you'll get, until you find yourself rolling on the floor, laughing. Please note that I didn't abbreviate that :)

Anyway, Google Translate has the habit (in Hebrew, at least) of transliterating words that it doesn't recognize. (That's actually one of the easiest ways to tell that something you're reading was translated using it.) In this ad that I found on our local chat-list, it attempts to transliterate the word HaTzaharon. (Tzaharon is the word used for afternoon day care, and this ad is for "HaTzahaon, as in, The Afternoon Day Care.) Okay, fine, we can grant them that one. But it gets better, check it out:

We agree, the English doesn't sound very natural. But do you see the part that really got me chuckling? Yes, there, toward the end... when does it open? From the end of WHAT?

Okay, Hebrew speakers out there: first to guess what that word was supposed to be gets a chocolate chip cookie. On your mark...

A great example

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Here's a classic blooper that my friend Dena found. This may not seem like an exciting typo at first - it doesn't give its sign a silly new meaning, or do anything particularly dramatic. But then you realize that it's an actual, permanent (not to mention gigantic) sign, in an actual, real mall. In Jerusalem, for crying out loud! This isn't some hand-written poster that a high school minimum wage kid stuck in a store window. Someone paid a lot of money to someone to have it designed, and then to a professional sign guy to put it together. And no one thought to ask an English speaker to proofread? It's only six words - how expensive could that possibly be? 

Naturally, it's advertising an American product. Shhh... no one tell Adidas!

Sheesh. I'm glad I have a place to vent about these things :)

Have a great day, all! And thanks again, Dena!

Here's one, fresh from my own kitchen

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I stepped wrong a few weeks ago, on a Friday morning. I somehow twisted/sprained my foot, not my ankle, which I didn't know was even possible. Leave it to me to find something newly injurable... Anyway, Friday mornings are usually pretty hectic in our household - we all run around cleaning and cooking, trying our best to get ready for Shabat. But suddenly I couldn't walk, or even stand much, leaving Dave to be Mr. Mom.

That's why he was reading the couscous directions. And that's how he came across this:

Do you see it? Do you see it?

Oy.

Please don't close

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Here's another goodie that was discovered via Facebook. Thanks Avram, who found this excellent specimen and was savvy enough to photograph it. And thanks Dave, who is friends with Avram and passed it on to me!

And so, with no further ado: here's what Avram found in our favorite Israeli airport, on a trip abroad last month:

Closing dawn seems a bit harsh. I mean, any excuse for a sale is probably a good one, but I really enjoy dawn. Can we close something less pleasant? Maybe... hurricanes?

Thanks, Avram!

The latest import - get yours now!

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I always try to walk through the electronics department at Supersol before I start grocery shopping. You just never know what goodies you may find. This one caught my eye:

Hold on, if you can't see, here it is a bit closer:

 Ha! But wait, there's more:

I especially like the beating element, and of course the bandles. But I've never liked pop quizzes, and certainly not while I shop...

Does that really count?

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I love Israel! That said, the ice cream here really leaves a lot to be desired. I don't know why - as a rule, the dairy products here are much yummier than what I've found anywhere else, and you'd think that ice cream would be an offshoot of dairy products... but I guess not. The stuff made here by Israeli companies just lacks the proper level of creaminess - that's my humble opinion!

However, there are a bunch of little ice cream shops that have cropped up all around, and these tend to carry fancier (generally foreign) brands. We went to one on Emek Refaim street earlier this year, and were impressed. They had creamy ice cream, and lots of fun toppings for the kids. And I did find their translation of the fistook (Hebrew for pistachio) ice cream to be entertaining:

Totally helpful, right?