Signs That Made Their Intended Message Harder to Understand

Public notices, store advertisements, and directional signs are meant to provide a quick, clear message to everyday passersby. However, when poor typography choices, hilariously literal translation fails, or confusing sentence structures get involved, the primary message often gets entirely lost in translation. Instead of guiding or informing the public, these poorly designed notices end up creating total confusion and unintentional comedy for anyone attempting to decipher them.

 

Top, bottom, front or back?

Lost in translation

The 3-sign combo makes it hilarious

Gee, I wonder how he tastes with garlic?

I sure hope they mean BOWLS!

Haggle! You probably could get $4 for $9

In other words, put shoes on your pet before lighting up

I think I would hang around just for the chance to see this

A nudist thrift store?

 

Continue Reading...

Foods You Should Never Cook in a Slow Cooker

For many people their best-loved kitchen tool is the slow cooker. What other small appliance can transform basic ingredients into long-simmered deliciousness and turn tough budget cuts of meat into melt-in-your-mouth meals while they’re at work? From pot roast to soups and even desserts, the slow cooker can do just about anything. However, not everything can go in a slow cooker. Some things will surprise you, while others won’t. Here are the three foods you should never cook in a slow cooker.

 

Frozen Meat — Meat thawed and fresh from the refrigerator will come up to temperature within a safe time frame, so slow cooking is absolutely safe. However, frozen meat should never be cooked in a slow cooker. That’s because it will develop bacteria before it can reach a safe temperature zone in the slow cooker. Always defrost meat in the refrigerator overnight before adding it to a slow cooker.

Kidney Beans — Cooking dried or even soaked kidney beans in the slow cooker can make you very sick. That’s because dry kidney beans contain toxic levels of a protein called PHA, and cooking them in a slow cooker makes them even more toxic. Just 4-5 beans cooked this way can cause nausea, diarrhea, vomiting and cramps. Soak kidney beans overnight, then boil them on the stove in fresh water for 30 minutes. After that, they’ll be totally safe to slow cook. Of course, you can avoid all that by opting for canned kidney beans, which are perfectly safe for the slow cooker.

Too Much of Any Food — Slow cookers are designed to heat a specific volume of food safely. If you cram too much food into a slow cooker, it will struggle to bring everything up to a safe temperature. Overfilled slow cookers also run the risk of spillover, which is not only messy but can ruin the inside of the appliance. Never fill your slow cooker more than ½ to ⅔ full. 

 

Continue Reading...

Airmail Delivery Without Landing

In the 1930s, postal officials decided to test the feasibility of inaugurating airmail service in areas without adequate railway or highway mail links. Unfortunately, the towns which needed this type of service usually did not have adequate landing fields for planes. Although a low-flying airplane could easily dump a sack of mail onto the ground, the difficult part would be getting ground mail into the moving plane. The plane that was initially used was a single engine Stinson aircraft, capable of operating at speeds of approximately 150 miles an hour. The crew consisted of the pilot and a flight officer who worked the pick-up mechanism, making the mail exchange. To deliver the mail, the flight officer lowered the mail container out of the bottom of the aircraft through a special opening. Just before reaching the poles he released the canister. Almost at the same instant an arm was lowered. The grappling hook snagged the hanging mail pouch then slid down the arm and caught the noose. Once the catch was made the flight officer activated the winding mechanism to reel the mail canister into the plane. During the first year of operation, more than 23,000 pick ups were made, amounting to 75,000 pounds of mail. The service was used in those areas for about 10 years.

 

Click to Enlarge

 

Continue Reading...

KFC’s New Restaurant Concept Goes Way Beyond Fried Chicken

KFC has its eyes set on the future with the debut of Open House, a new restaurant concept designed to rethink the chain’s dining experience. Located in McKinney, Texas, Open House focuses on four areas of the customer experience: product, promotion, place, and price. More importantly for anyone walking through the doors, that translates to an expanded menu, breakfast, more sauce options, greater customization, an upgraded beverage lineup, and a completely redesigned restaurant. The 3,400-square-foot restaurant takes design inspiration from the mid-century modern era when KFC got its start. Inside, 52 seats, wooden accents, large windows, and flexible indoor-outdoor spaces give the restaurant a warmer, more inviting feel. KFC also packed Open House with features you won’t typically find at your neighborhood location, including table service, dual drive-thru lanes, and self-order kiosks. Open House feels like KFC asking what a modern fast-food restaurant can offer beyond getting your bucket and heading home. Apparently, that includes everything from breakfast to table service to merchandise shopping on your way out.

Continue Reading...