Normative Signs: The Poetry of "Ought"

I love the sheer density of normative messages in this bank window. “Don’t smoke. Wheelchairs are OK. You’re being watched, so behave yourself. Oh and trust us, your deposits here are insured.”

This one is on the escalator at the Fairmont Royal York (hotel) in Toronto. For those of you who don’t know it, the Royal York is a fancy hotel, the kind where events get held at which long dresses are not unlikely. That, of course, explains why the sign is needed. But it also suggests that long dresses may be sufficiently common that a sign like this may not be sufficient.

The sign is also interestingly lackadaisical. Long dresses may get caught. You know, it happens.