While riding the MRT I noticed a sign on the TV monitors. It said “Beware of the screen”. Am I to understand that these screens might jump down and attack passengers? Oh well I thought it was good for a laugh.
Now that the MRT people are making their escalators safer by doing things like, painting criss-crossed yellow lines at the bottom, or stationing somebody with a loudspeaker there to gracefully remind everyone to be careful, I wonder if they will realize that encouraging everybody to “zone out” watching TV on the way down could be hazardous?
Personally, I wish people would start treating TV the way we treat smoking: ban it from public places. If I have the right not to inhale your second-hand smoke, why shouldn’t I have the right not to be forced to watch TV against my will? (Some people say it’s addictive, some people are against it for moral or religious reasons, etc.)
The Taiwanese have to have something blaring at them or someone shouting at them through a megaphone at all times - they can’t handle quiet. Notice everywhere you go there is extra noise added in? It’s a cultural thing. Same in China.
Slightly off topic, but another “beware of” warning that regularly gives me a good laugh:
“Beware Of Your Hands”
It’s posted beside the escalator at my local Carrefour.