Unintentional Funnies

[marko]

I was re-re-re-reading instructions on something (from China).
It said something like "add part A to part B. Make this section bold. Then part C to..."
Took me a long time to figure out 'make this section bold' was an edit from a proof reader about the instructions.

But while we're at it, with so many things coming at us in fractured English, I'd think there'd be a nice little business in someone cleaning up such poor instructions and such.

You don't need a degree in English to figure out what they're trying to say and then edit it to real English. "Make sure wong screw is used not hole put here"

 

[FIREarly]

This was in the United States, where we (purportedly) speak English:
{Picture: Antique furniture made daily}

hahaha not an English teacher but common! hahaha

 

[ERD50]

I was re-re-re-reading instructions on something (from China).
It said something like "add part A to part B. Make this section bold. Then part C to..."
Took me a long time to figure out 'make this section bold' was an edit from a proof reader about the instructions.

But while we're at it, with so many things coming at us in fractured English, I'd think there'd be a nice little business in someone cleaning up such poor instructions and such.

You don't need a degree in English to figure out what they're trying to say and then edit it to real English. "Make sure wong screw is used not hole put here"

I'm surprised at how bad the translations are for a lot of this stuff. I mean, there must be plenty of people in China (or available to these companies from outside China) that speak English well enough to provide a decent translation at a low cost. Seems like a small price to pay to appear more professional, and avoid bad reviews because someone couldn't follow the instructions, but the product worked just fine.

Many of these bad instructions are for relatively simple products. It would take less than an hour to re-write it. We're talking a small page of notes, not a 300 page service manual.

-ERD50

 

[ERD50]

Originally Posted by The Cosmic Avenger View Post
This was in the United States, where we (purportedly) speak English:
{Picture: Antique furniture made daily}

hahaha not an English teacher but common! hahaha

Along those lines, I always wonder about the "Baked Fresh Daily" signs I see.

OK, you bake them every day (and could you bake it w/o it being 'fresh'?), but do you serve them the same day they are baked? That's what matters. I guess "these were baked fresh two weeks ago last Tuesday" meets the criteria for being "fresh baked daily". "Tuesday" is a day.

-ERD50

 

[JoeWras]

I'm surprised at how bad the translations are for a lot of this stuff. I mean, there must be plenty of people in China (or available to these companies from outside China) that speak English well enough to provide a decent translation at a low cost.

You mean like my "Pleasure notice user"? I think they were trying to say: "Please note:"

As for the rest of the note, it doesn't make sense. The product was LED, so I think they were trying to say: "Don't use with conventional ballast".

So, for your pleasure, this clearly qualifies as an unintentional funny, especially seeing what ISO9001 quality gets you.

 

[FIREarly]

]originally posted by firearly view post
originally posted by the cosmic avenger view post
this was in the united states, where we (purportedly) speak english:
{picture: Antique furniture made daily}
hahaha not an english teacher but common! Hahaha

along those lines, i always wonder about the "baked fresh daily" signs i see.

Ok, you bake them every day (and could you bake it w/o it being 'fresh'?), but do you serve them the same day they are baked? That's what matters. I guess "these were baked fresh two weeks ago last tuesday" meets the criteria for being "fresh baked daily". "tuesday" is a day.

-erd50

 

[FIYes]

Antique Furniture Made Daily may just possibly be truth in advertising.

 

[jollystomper]

One of my favorite movies is Dr. Strangelove. I love the quote "Gentlemen, you can't fight in here! This is the War Room!" The look on the actors faces in that scene - priceless!

I used that in a prank at Megacorp once. Our sales team often used military terms, one of them being a "War Room" to brainstorm about marketing strategies. One day the local sales held such a meeting in one of the office's conference rooms, and one of the administrative assistants had put in a sign <CLIENT NAME> WAR ROOM on the conference room door to aid those coming in offsite to find the right meeting. When I saw that, I couldn't resist... so I added the words "NO FIGHTING ALLOWED" underneath. I did tell the administrative assistant I did it, so that she would not get in trouble (she thought it was hilarious).

Our organization's executive was in the meeting, and before lunch she came to my work area, shook her head "sadly", and said "If I weren't a Dr. Strangelove fan you'd be in a lot of trouble". Of course she was kidding; she said it was funny how many people who saw the meeting coming in and out of the room did double takes, some laughed, some asked "why would we fight in this meeting?"

 

[ERD50]

THREAD DRIFT ALERT:

In the post:

����

I was quoted, and it appeared as below (note lower case "-erd50"):

Originally Posted by erd50 View Post
along those lines, i always wonder about the "baked fresh daily" signs i see.

Ok, you bake them every day (and could you bake it w/o it being 'fresh'?), but do you serve them the same day they are baked? That's what matters. I guess "these were baked fresh two weeks ago last tuesday" meets the criteria for being "fresh baked daily". "tuesday" is a day.

-erd50

But I typed it in upper case "-ERD50":

Along those lines, I always wonder about the "Baked Fresh Daily" signs I see.

OK, you bake them every day (and could you bake it w/o it being 'fresh'?), but do you serve them the same day they are baked? That's what matters. I guess "these were baked fresh two weeks ago last Tuesday" meets the criteria for being "fresh baked daily". "Tuesday" is a day.

-ERD50

I recall seeing this before, I'd type UC, and it would appear in LC. It was weird, but it happened so rarely that I just let it go, thinking I must be seeing things. But there it is.

Is there any rational explanation for how the forum software could do this?


Maybe it is not "thread drift", it is unintentional, some mind find it 'funny', as in funny-odd, not funny-like-a-clown?

edit/add - geez, it changed "Tuesday" to "tuesday", and "OK" to Ok" , it changed all the UC except ones that start a new sentence - very weird (at least to me!)

-ERD50 (entered as upper-case)!

 

[The Cosmic Avenger]

ERD50, I don't want to drive this thread too far off track, but you ask how the forum software could do this, but if it was vBulletin, it would probably occur on all or almost all posts. My educated guess (having actually managed vBulletin installations both for fun and profit) is that it's either a browser issue for certain users (like autocorrect), or a mobile app issue.

 

[CaptTom]

Along those lines, I always wonder about the "Baked Fresh Daily" signs I see...

There's a "farm stand" near us. It's not associated with any farm. They park an old flat bed farm truck on an unused lot along a busy road, and sell produce they bring out from the city wholesale markets, 50 miles away. Nothing is ever fresh, or local. But there's a big sign:


"Fresh is Best!"


Of course it is. You won't get anything fresh there, but it is true.

 

[Koolau]

I'm surprised at how bad the translations are for a lot of this stuff. I mean, there must be plenty of people in China (or available to these companies from outside China) that speak English well enough to provide a decent translation at a low cost. Seems like a small price to pay to appear more professional, and avoid bad reviews because someone couldn't follow the instructions, but the product worked just fine.

Many of these bad instructions are for relatively simple products. It would take less than an hour to re-write it. We're talking a small page of notes, not a 300 page service manual.

-ERD50

I still recall the manual for my Honda 50 scooter suggesting things like "Please to properly tighten spark plug." I thought to myself, "How polite are these folks!"

 

[prudent_one]

This the one that always comes to mind when I see a topic about badly written signs or instructions.

http://www.rinkworks.com/said/im/dballtoy.jpg

 

[FIREarly]

ERD50, I don't want to drive this thread too far off track, but you ask how the forum software could do this, but if it was vBulletin, it would probably occur on all or almost all posts. My educated guess (having actually managed vBulletin installations both for fun and profit) is that it's either a browser issue for certain users (like autocorrect), or a mobile app issue.

Good call, I viewed/posted and currently viewing/posting from Android phone in Vivaldi browser.

 

[NW-Bound]

There's a "farm stand" near us. It's not associated with any farm. They park an old flat bed farm truck on an unused lot along a busy road, and sell produce they bring out from the city wholesale markets, 50 miles away. Nothing is ever fresh, or local. But there's a big sign:

"Fresh is Best!"

Of course it is. You won't get anything fresh there, but it is true.

What was implied is this: "Fresh is best, but this is not it".

 

[Car-Guy]

I received a "Lunch and Learn" flyer in the mail this week from a local funeral home for a luncheon next week. First one I ever received. (I guess they know my age).. Anyway what I found funny was they said, RSVP since seating is limited and "time is short".

 

[CaptTom]

What was implied is this: "Fresh is best, but this is not it".

We say that together every time we drive by that sign. I made the mistake of buying corn there a second time. I'll never live that down.

 

[Lucie]

Growing up in Buffalo, we always chuckled at the AMIGONE Funeral Home.
I guess it takes the denial stage of death and dying very seriously

 

[Koolau]

Growing up in Buffalo, we always chuckled at the AMIGONE Funeral Home.
I guess it takes the denial stage of death and dying very seriously

I still recall chuckling when I drove past a mortuary with the name Eikenberry.