Signs Of Mischief: Harmless Acts Of Defacement That Make Us Giggle

Signs are a necessary evil of life. It can seem oppressing at times to have warnings and instructions everywhere, especially when it’s for something really obvious. We understand that it’s a legal thing, but that doesn’t make it any less annoying. While it can drive people crazy to have signage everywhere, some have chosen to direct their frustration into minor acts of vandalism. Nothing dangerous; just some small additions that change the meaning of things.

We are not encouraging you to go against the rules or destroy public property, but we perfectly understand people who want to add a little art or humor to their surroundings. We have here a few examples of public doodles that are more delightful than they are devious. Enjoy!

This is something we’d like to see

You don’t always see men working, but a much rarer sight is men twerking while working, which is, we guess, what this sign is saying. So, where are the men who are twerking while working? We don’t see any of them in sight.

Such a disappointment, don’t you think? Seriously though, if you’re going to make a sign more fun and want to get people’s attention, this is the best way to do it. It would definitely make our morning commute a lot more fun.

We more than love this

This is the type of vandalism we can get behind 100%. We support this because not only does it get rid of those racist and offensive remarks, the picture of the cute cat also brightens up our day. Look how cute that feline is.

Sometimes you are just done with all the senseless and mean things people do, even without provocation. The world really needs a lot less of that. What we need more of is cuteness and more photos of felines and canines.

Even the victim approves

There are types of graffiti that annoy you to no end, but there is also another type that makes everything better. This photo belongs to the second group. Even the man on the poster himself was very happy. This turned into a wholesome moment.

He realized that his coolness level just increased exponentially after someone drew some cool Ray-Bans and a mustache on his picture. We commend this guy for his sense of humor. He can laugh about things instead of getting angry.

At least they have a heart for people using pencils

This is something different and helpful at the same time. Nowadays, not a lot of people think about the situation of pencil-wielding citizens. Most pay no mind to them. But someone decided the time was right for providing assistance to the artists among us.

We love the whimsical randomness of the Portobello Public Pencil Sharpening Project, and we approve of their kindness and their willingness to help. People It isn’t obnoxious or at all obtrusive, just helpful.

Johnny Depp for Sausage

If you think that British people have no sense of humor, think again. Okay, probably no one thinks that, but we’re here to tell you that Brits can be hilarious. Contrary to popular (American) belief, they don’t take things too seriously. Not convinced?

Just look at this poster. We didn’t know that Dior is selling sausages and that they got Captain Jack Sparrow himself to endorse their product. We know only one thing that could have made the poster better: they should have covered the perfume bottle with sausages too.

A la Freddie Mercury

Freddie Mercury, without a doubt, is one of the most iconic singers of all time. He helped redefined music as we know it today. Naturally, he has a lot of fans and whenever people see something that reminds them of Freddie, they are quick to point it out.

Obviously, the person who wrote on this sign is a fan of Freddie and Queen. We can hear him singing in while dancing onstage in his distinct costumes. We’re starting to have a good time just looking at the sign.

We want this on our fire alarms

Now, this is the type of graffiti we want on our walls. It’s funny and artsy and it adds more life to the wall. The person who submitted this photo saw this in their local hospital and thought it is worth sharing.

Thank you for sharing this with us, we all need a pop of color in our lives from time to time to ward off boredom. This creation can even pass for a Banksy, don’t you think? They could have it framed.

Do we need to pay any royalty for this?

There are stock images that you can use for free, and there are those you’d have to pay for. Whoever owned this wall does not like having people take pictures of it and using it for free without his permission.

So, he thought it would be a good idea to scribble the words “Getty Images” on it. So, does this mean he’s going to charge money every time people take pictures of the wall and use it? Seriously though, this is clever, and funny, too.

That’s one adorable water tank

Life can get monotonous and that is the last thing we want. We all need some jolt of excitement now and then if we are going to make it through endless days spent in the office, or doing things most of us don’t even want to do.

That’s why this woman was more than happy to see their local water tank being decorated by someone in the cutest way possible. She likes being greeted by the sight of the water tank-turned pig with a few doodles. We also hope this never ends.

We need more of this

This is another example of wholesome graffiti that we need more of. It may be temporary, but it still puts a smile on our faces, and we’re all for it. What do you do to a police car parked out in the snow?

Get your creative juices flowing, of course. We sure like the policeman at the wheel who’s very happy with his job. We all need happier policemen. And look at the person in the back. He seems to be upset he got caught.

When you like your fabric so much

We love cotton because it’s breathable, it’s comfortable, and it’s hypoallergenic. Plus, you can wear it regardless of the season. But, hey whatever floats your boat. You do you and so will everyone else. If you love satin, then hail satin it is.

Someone else, aside from us, begged to disagree with his opinion that satin is the best. So, they decided it was a fantastic idea to post a note that he’s all for silk. Well, it seams like we have a problem here. Get it?

‘Tis the season to be jolly

This is a great way to make a sign look more interesting. If it’s the holiday season, there’s no need to be glum and pull a Mr. Scrooge. You have to join everyone in their Feliz Navidad mood and start buying presents for people you love.

We love this sign because it has such a fun wordplay. We’re pretty sure a lot of people will start calling Tristan Spark and Mischa Gringas to wish them happy holidays at the very least. Their phones will be ringing nonstop.

From a Soviet Star to Patrick

One of the most popular characters to have ever come out of the sea of the cartoon world is undeniably Patrick Star. Although the fictional character is seen as someone overweight, lazy, and dimwitted, he is endearing, and an amazing and loyal friend.

Someone in Voronezh, Russia thought it would be a good idea to give a Soviet star more life by transforming it to Patrick Star. We think this graffiti artist should spruce up more old buildings with their humorous view on life.

Just be nice

While trying to make it through our daily lives, we often forget that other people are just getting by and doing the best they can not to break down. Sometimes, we get so caught up with ourselves that we forget to be nice to others.

Let this improvised Nike billboard remind us that it doesn’t take too much of our time and energy to be nice to others, and to just do it whenever you can. We all need more signs like this to remind us from time to time.

Here’s Mr. Bean for you

For people who grew up in the 90s, Mr. Bean has got to be one of the most iconic and funniest characters. Stylistically, his show and movies are quite similar to early silent films. He relies purely upon physical comedy.

We’re happy to know that young boys in school recognize and used him, if only to annoy the teachers in their school. They printed pictures of the funny man and slapped them up in random places. Only one survived the cleanup.

Canada, Oh, Canada

The national police force in Canada is called The Royal Canadian Mountain Police and it’s unique in the world for combining the different policing bodies. When you think of Canada, though, the Mounties are probably not what first comes to mind, eh?

Overall, Canadians generally have a favorable view of their police, but not everyone is happy with the police force. But even if they don’t agree with them, Canadians still have that politeness they’re famous for. This Canadian, at least, just can’t be too rude.

These signs got us singing

If you had an opportunity to make stop signs a lot nicer looking than they are, wouldn’t you like to have a go at it? We’ve been looking for more entertaining stop signs like the tribute to Queen earlier, and it seems that the search is over.

We have finally found someone who is up to the job. These signs have us singing and dancing to “U Can’t Touch This” in our MC Hammer pants. We had to check the back of our wardrobes to pull out those pants.

Careful with the eye

This reminds us of the scene in Hostel with the lady who had one of her eyes hanging out. Gross, yes. And we are not going to look at these hand dryers in public bathrooms the way we used to.

We never really pay attention to the most mundane things unless something makes them stand out. So we give a big round of applause to the artists here. Such vision and imagination! Without this guy, we wouldn’t be enjoying this chuckle.

We love it

We know traffic lights are all around us, so we tend to just ignore them unless we are driving or about to cross the street. One pedestrian must have been so bored that he thought he’d do something to spice up the sign.

Instead of the hand sign saying “Stop,” what you see now is the American Sign Language sign for “I love you.” We just hope that pedestrians will not get confused over this. We also hope this sign spreads love all over the city.

Do I need to shout?

This is the first time we’ve seen a voice-activated paper towel dispenser. Most of those we have seen in public bathrooms are motion activated, some need you to press a button, and others require you to pull the towels manually.

What if the dispenser can’t hear you? Do you need to shout? Wouldn’t it alarm the other people that somebody started screaming for no apparent reason? Seriously though, we’d love to see the face of the person who believes this and spends the next five minutes shouting for a paper towel.

Metallica is indeed an old band

“Enter Sandman,” “Nothing Else Matters,” “For Whom the Bell Tolls,” and “Seek & Destroy.” What do these songs have in common? They were written by one of the most recognizable bands in the world. Don’t believe it when someone tells you that Metallica is an old band?

This is all the proof you need. They have been rocking it since the time of the caveman. They have been at it even before they had musical instruments, and everything is even documented in this history textbook. Metallica fans, you need to read this!

Bacon all day

If you live in the US, then it might be interesting to know that 70% of the bacon in the US is eaten during breakfast. Bacon is one of the reasons why we find it quite hard to be a vegetarian. We just can’t resist it.

If there’s any way we can get bacon easily anytime we want it, we’d go for it. If only what this sign is saying is true, you’d hear us clapping for bacon anytime we have the opportunity. Bacon for breakfast, bacon for lunch, and bacon for dinner.

Better luck next time, pal

Some men find it easy to approach girls and ask them out. And at other times, they have to think of creative ways to get women to go out on a date with them. When we say creative, it doesn’t mean creepy.

We’re not sure if this guy tried to ask his dream girl on a date by doodling on the book but if he did, you’d see that her answer is quite straight to the point. She just flat out said no right away without any second thoughts.

What have you been doing, John?

Based on this, John seems to be a guy who is disliked by most of the people he has come across. That says a lot about his personality and his work ethic. What have you been doing with your time, John?

While everyone is busy working and making sure they get stuff done, John has been busy perhaps texting on his phone and watching YouTube? No matter what was really going on, we’re getting the feeling John can take a joke pretty well.

Yup, we can agree with this

One of the most popular fast-food chains in the world today is KFC. It opened in 1952 in Salt Lake City, but it was still named Sanders Court & Café back then. KFC is well-loved for its secret recipe blend.

We tend to agree with this sign in KFC, which somebody has decided to write on. Yup, it’s always a good day in KFC – unless you’re a chicken. If you’re a chicken, you’d be scrambling to get yourself as far away as possible.

Such creativity and artistry

Contrary to what some people may think, not just anyone can make abstract art. There is art, and there is mindless scribbling and doodling. Sometimes, you don’t know where the former starts and where the latter ends. But most of know when an art piece is moving.

Well, this is something that can pass for art. Coincidentally, the broken glass also happens to be part of the North Vancouver Gallery’s building. We’d love to know who this unknown artist is. He’s got some talent. And they have a great sense of humor!

Stop with the googly eyes

Would you classify this as being passive-aggressive? We certainly would. Why else would you put googly eyes on a sign that is asking whoever is putting googly eyes to put a stop to such a thing? Someone in the office seems to dislike this guy.

But we have to admit this gives the sign more attitude and makes the story behind this we’re imagining a lot more interesting. We certainly hope that no one in the office gets angry because of this. We’d hate to see people fighting over googly eyes.

Yup, we agree

How do you tell someone that they need to do something without telling them directly? If you don’t know how to give hints, you need to learn from this guy. He gets the job done! He got people to do exactly what he wanted.

We love how the guy who did the painting also got in on the fun by posting his sign, confirming to everyone that he got the job done, although we think it’s not necessary. We can see with our own eyes that the letterbox is shiny and new again.

Can’t argue with this one

We just have to say outright that this guy has amazing humor. Elevators wouldn’t help if there was any fire. Instead of using it, you should get some water. More people would live if you used water. Ah, we love these kinds of jokes.

You can’t deny that signs like this help take the mundanity out of everyday life. When you see them, you just have to laugh out loud and admire the wittiness of whoever decided to grab their pen and make their contribution.

That’s one long title

The book with the longest title happens to be one written by Vityala Yethindra’s. It contains 3,777 words and more than 26,000 characters. If you ask us, that’s no longer a title, that’s already a novel. The title of this scientific paper might not be the longest, but we do lose interest pretty quickly.

We like how this man’s wife decided to add some humor to his heavy scientific reading. She’s a woman after our own hearts. This is one of the things you should do if you want to make your marriage last.

Yes, men are stubborn

Ask any girlfriend or wife and they will tell you that men are very stubborn. They refuse to ask for directions even when lost and they want to do things their own way, even if it’s not the most efficient.

This is the perfect demonstration of men’s stubbornness. According to rumors, the vandal who did this has never been seen or heard from again. He probably was told to go write on all these signs… and refused, and has stayed home ever since.

Adaptation is the name of the game

If you don’t know how to adapt to today’s world, you’re going to have a lot of problems. You’re gonna get lost in a sea of other people. It’s even more important to adapt if you have a business because if you don’t, you’re gonna lose clients.

This realtor knows what we’re talking about. When somebody decided to vandalize his picture, he thought it would be a good idea to vandalize himself before publishing this photo to his Facebook account. He certainly has a great sense of humor.

Too much vandalism going on here

What do you do if somebody vandalizes a wall in a bathroom? The best thing to do is to vandalize it right back. Is that too much? Not for these people. It seems to be just the right amount of vandalism for everyone.

Writings on the wall outside, we have to agree with the messages, both of them. It isn’t advisable to impress people with money that you don’t have. It’s also not impressive to vandalize things with quotes that are not yours.

Cow crossing sign fixed

If a sign isn’t being truthful, it must be fixed right away. Perhaps that’s what this person had in mind when he put some tape over a crow crossing sign. It looks a lot more accurate now that it has been fixed.

The cows are not all black; they have a white stripe running across the middle, so the sign should have the same. We’re curious how they were able to get identical cows. Are they from the same mother? They must all be siblings.

The tape is just the right fix

This sign applies to anywhere in the world. It is really difficult if you have unfit people in the Supreme Court. You want only competent and incorruptible people there, regardless of if they have to be elected or appointed as justices.

The clever use of the tape and the Sharpie to make just the right fix on this sign was quick and easy. The person who did this must have been tired of hearing all the bad news in the world lately.

Whoever did this is going to be our friend

Not sure if this was meant to provoke the establishment or to entertain them, their staff, and their patrons. Before we talk about vandalism, we do find it funny that this is a public laundry place and yet they don’t allow folding. Is this normal where you are from?

Anyway, who wouldn’t laugh upon finding this early in the morning? So, somebody said no folding? Let me wow them with my spectacular Origami skills and see if they still don’t allow me to do any folding here. I bet I can change their minds.

This is 100% correct

Papercuts are nasty. They are small and barely noticeable, but they can be painful. Generally, people say the reason they are very painful is because we usually get them on our fingers. Our fingertips have more pain receptors than other parts of our bodies.

If you don’t think you have papercuts, try running alcohol or hand sanitizer on your hands. If you start screaming in pain, you have one. If you don’t have any reaction, then you’re good. Thanks, Purell, for letting us know pain.

We love how tall Marge’s hair is

We love this guy! Who would have thought that it would be fitting to add Marge Simpson in there? He has incredible creativity, and an equally great sense of humor, too. Marge Simpson is one of the most popular cartoon characters ever.

Just show people her hair, and they will know instantly who it is meant to be. Fiercely devoted to her family, Marge is trustworthy, consistent, and nurturing. And who can forget her distinctive voice? And she really compliments this tree.

Don’t blame Bill

This sign is a demonstration of just how important proper spacing and punctuations are. It also goes to show that you should respect Bill Posters and not just accuse him of things he didn’t do unless you have evidence that he is guilty.

Bill Posters is an innocent guy, so he shouldn’t be publicly shamed like this. Seriously, we love this kind of humor, and we need more of it. Like the saying goes, laughter is the best medicine. This one gave us just what the doctor ordered.

It’s a close call

If you saw this sign, which one would you choose? The original sign was way too ominous, and with all that’s been happening, it was probably making people nervous, so they thought they would lighten the mood by fixing it.

People on the internet say that Hello Kitty is going to win this one. That little girl pretending to be a cat has dominated the minds of many kids, and even some grown women adore her and decorate their homes with Hello Kitty memorabilia.

It’s 5 pm somewhere

What do we always say when somebody tells us that it’s too early for a drink? “It’s 5 pm somewhere!” And that is so true, so there’s no reason not to reach for that glass unless you have had too much to drink.

We have to say that this is well done. Shout out to people who can think of things like this and give more life to signs. We like to think that these people in the bar are having a good time with their cocktails and catching up with one another.

The cat and the lady

Strictly, this wouldn’t be classified as vandalism, but hey, it’s funny we had to put it on our list. This popular cat and yelling lady meme have been used several times in several situations, and it’s always funny every time.

The photo is a mashup of different photos but it’s been a favorite meme template for a while, and we hope it’s not going anywhere. Whoever did this on that smartphone display deserves a raise. It is very clever, and might help sell the phones.

#43 Homer is in the house

We all know Marge Simpson is in here, so it would only make sense to add Homer Simpson. Homer is fat, clumsy, lazy, and also has a penchant for alcohol. Everyone knows he is the Safety Inspector at the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant.

This alteration of the traffic light – yes, we’d like to call it alteration – is a very clever use of negative space. This puts a smile on our faces and, we love seeing Homer in all his meme glory. This is something we’d like to see when crossing the street.

Go out and vote

Earlier on in our list, you saw the stop sign that was turned into the ASL sign for “I Love You.” Over here at the corner of Filbert and Mason in San Francisco, they have another message to get across. They want their stop sign to be an instrument of protest.

Street artist Pablo Rochat put some tape on the stop sign that it ended up looking like a raised closed fist. Is it time for a revolution? Or is he encouraging people to go out of their houses and vote?