Signs are supposed to have the most basic of practical purposes. They can give directions, for example, or give the name of a street or place. Perhaps they are there to warn us of a potential hazard up ahead.
Sometimes though, a warning sign can instill more fear and trepidation in a person than is strictly necessary. Sure, it's better to be safe than sorry, but who really wants to be told to watch out for falling snakes? I mean, how often is that really happening?
This list, compiled by Bored Panda, is a series of sinister signs that captured people's attention for their slightly threatening nature. Sometimes tongue-in-cheek, sometimes deadly serious, these are the kind of warnings that everyone is definitely taking notice of! Which is, ultimately, the point in putting up signs in the first place.
Scroll down to check them out for yourself, and let us know what you think in the comments!
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Sign At An Irish Zoo
Sarcasm Meets Capitalism
It’s Only Fair
This Sign At My Uncles House
I Noticed A New Sign At My Doctors Office
Slower
Good Advice
At Pittsburgh Zoo - What?
This Corn Maze Sign
Thanks For The Heads Up
I Mean... It’s Not Wrong
Presenting Exhibit A
I Have Well Meaning Neighbours Who Knock On My Door At All Times (All Times) To Inform Me Of Neighbourhood Discord
This Sign
Have a look at the famous german shortfilm "Staplerfahrer Klaus" (you don't need to understand german to appreciate :-))
Nope
This Sign Outside A Cabin My Family Is Staying In
Gotta Be Bold To Urinate In Public In Tirana, Albania
At The Hippo Exhibit
This Sign At My Local Orthodox Church
Take A Guess
Alligators Love Kids
Public Service Announcement To All Kids
So you're on the ride until an emergency happens? No wonder people are crying.
This Is A Real Sign
At A Nearby Wolf Sanctuary
Imagine trying to rob the place and not realizing there are wolves
Crocodile Enclosure At Sydney Aquarium
And if the crocodile doesn't kill you, you're either lucky or not human
Seen At My Local Tattoo Studio
Just Another Day In Alaska
Texas, Home Of The World's Scariest Sign
This Is How Our Tigers See You
Trust Me, I Won't
No Idea What It Means But Can't Be Good
Wheeeeeeeeeeeee-Uh Oh!
No Worries, 3 Layers Of Glass Still Remain To Protect You From The King Of The Jungle
My Relaxing Road Trip From Darwin To Melbourne, Australia
According to Fb, it is lucky any of us make it to adulthood. But having said that. I have evacuated my horses and sit here waiting with packed bags, to see what our declared catastrophic fire day will bring.
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Should just be a sign at the airport saying warning you are in Australia.
Everything in Australia wants to kill you. It really is the land of Darwin.
When I was a child, Australia was my dream vacation. As I grew older, I realized e-v-e-r-y-t-h-I-n-g there is dangerous. Here’s more proof of that!
My personal favorite are the beach signs - they list a good ten things each that could harm or kill you - stingers, sharks, rays, rips, waves, rocks, snakes, cliffs. You name it, you can find it waiting at an Aussie beach.
Bill Bryson has a great story about a snake that the locals call the "Oh sh" snake because if it bites you, that's all you have time to say before the venom kills you.
These signs are "dares" to test stupidity: "Wot a stewpid warning? WATCH THIS!"
actually Seabeast, our most venomous spider in Oz is the Daddy Long-legs...its just that they cant pierce human skin..
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I'd rather keep going to Paris, Rome, London, Madrid... Maybe Moscow, wheather permitting.
Don't need to read to figure out this is Australia. Damn those mates are breve.
A Good Reminder Not To Drown
Killer Coconuts In Oahu Hi
Advertisement For An Anti-Malaria Medicine (1941)
Would also make a good pro-vaccination advertisement. “These people’s parents didn’t believe in vaccination”.
Found This Gem At A Local Bulk Foods Store
Ominous AF
Ummm... Okay?
If your kids "live" here, they are zombies: drive as fast as you can!
Note: this post originally had 56 images. It’s been shortened to the top 40 images based on user votes.
You know, these may be threatening, but they are MUCH more effective than all those coochy-coo-patronising signs we see everywhere today. All of these are fair warnings, use it as you wish, the consequences are for you. My dad once said that if cars had sharp pins under the wheel instead of an airbag, people would drive MUCH safer.
I agree. More warning signs should be like this. One sign might say, 'No Swimming'. That doesn't tell anyone anything, and isn't going to do much to dissuade people. A sign saying, 'No Swimming: Piranhas' is a lot more effective. Give people a reason why they're being warned off.
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In English "Don't cross, somebody already died here". We also don't sugarcoat signs here in the Philippines. JbCXzp5ll1...e929a0.jpg 
I have actually seen this pair of signs several times in different locations. Some prisons have open gates....
Have an open prison fairly near where I live.
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We've got signs around Graterford Prison here in PA. One comment under the "Prison, don't pick up hitchhikers!" was 'No duh!', but we have lots of tourists pass through there, and they aren't necessarily going to realize that there's a prison up ahead as they are on their way somewhere else; those signs are necessary. Hell, I've lived here in PA all of my life, and have known about that particular prison for at least 30 years. I *still* don't think about it when I drive up there because I'm never going up there to stop in, I'm on my way somewhere else. Those signs are a good reminder.
You know, these may be threatening, but they are MUCH more effective than all those coochy-coo-patronising signs we see everywhere today. All of these are fair warnings, use it as you wish, the consequences are for you. My dad once said that if cars had sharp pins under the wheel instead of an airbag, people would drive MUCH safer.
I agree. More warning signs should be like this. One sign might say, 'No Swimming'. That doesn't tell anyone anything, and isn't going to do much to dissuade people. A sign saying, 'No Swimming: Piranhas' is a lot more effective. Give people a reason why they're being warned off.
Load More Replies... In English "Don't cross, somebody already died here". We also don't sugarcoat signs here in the Philippines. JbCXzp5ll1...e929a0.jpg
I have actually seen this pair of signs several times in different locations. Some prisons have open gates....
Have an open prison fairly near where I live.
Load More Replies... We've got signs around Graterford Prison here in PA. One comment under the "Prison, don't pick up hitchhikers!" was 'No duh!', but we have lots of tourists pass through there, and they aren't necessarily going to realize that there's a prison up ahead as they are on their way somewhere else; those signs are necessary. Hell, I've lived here in PA all of my life, and have known about that particular prison for at least 30 years. I *still* don't think about it when I drive up there because I'm never going up there to stop in, I'm on my way somewhere else. Those signs are a good reminder.
