Do not hit baseballs against the fence
Yashica-12
Kodak Vericolor III (expired 7/86) @ EI 80
2021
What the heck happened that made Zionsville Little League need to post a sign like this?
But this post is actually about printed words. It’s a mental quirk of mine, but I’m drawn to them. Signs of all kinds draw me in. I study the letterforms and the way the words are arranged. I consider the message; why was it written in the way it was?
It’s sometimes a problem. When I was dating my wife, the word GATHER was painted on the kitchen wall. I had to make myself not look at it, even though I’d studied it dozens of times. I was relieved when she repainted the kitchen and it disappeared.
I’m sure a psychologist would have a field day with this.
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I see the message and start wondering what bad thing happened because someone was hitting baseballs against the fence. Did someone get hurt? Did an old fence get damaged and require replacement? Was there a lawsuit? I don’t know what happened, but I bet something did.
The story is probably lost to the mist of time!
Hehe…yeah I get the signs thing. I always wonder about signs….why they are put up in the first place. At the office (it’s a large building) some put a “please flush” sign in individal toilet stalls….
Oof, I can only imagine why those signs were necessary!
It doesn’t prohibit softballs… What about softballs?
I should bring a softball, hit it against that fence, and find out what happens!
That’s what I always think.
You work with software developers, so you’ll understand (or at least be familiar with) the thought process that analyzes a statement for what it says and not necessarily what it means.
Oh yes. I have to fight treating every statement like a chemical equation that must be balanced.
You probably know this joke, but I think it perfectly describes the thought process:
A software developer’s wife sends him to the store: Get a gallon if milk. If they have eggs, get six.
He comes back with 6 gallons of milk. “Why did you do that?!”
“They had eggs”
This is me, nodding vigorously!
Haha.
Replying to the joke: Meanwhile, two lawyers stand at the checkout arguing whether to get 6 eggs or 6 gallons of milk. Only after 3 years of litigation do they get a ruling from a judge that the wife meant eggs.
And the wife is still not happy because she wanted milk and eggs!
Baseball, duck tape, reshoot. :D
Hey now, that’s a good idea!
mene mene tekel upharsin
Thanks, I needed that laugh!
I ask this question all the time. Wherever there’s an off the wall sign, there’s a story.
There used to be a discount store in my area that had small typed paper signs all over the place including taped to the merchandise shelves- no opening packages, no playing with the toys, no chewing gum. There was even a no loitering sign in the fabric department. Evidently the quilting crowd was getting rowdy or at least loafing too long near the fabric tables…..
The story at that discount store sounds like a proprietor who didn’t like his customers!
I always thought she was super nice in person but those signs. Ooof!
It’s because of soft toss which is where someone throws the ball lightly in the air and the batter hits it only a couple feet into the fence. It contains how far the balls go and it damages the fence. Fences are expensive, use the batting cages which are built for this.
There we have it: the real story!
I like to consider signs that have slightly ambiguous wording where with punctuation or just emphasis it can read in a totally different way than intended
A rare thing, but fun when you find one.
Less rare than you might think :)