Over the years I’ve always been fascinated by street signs. When I say this I’m not talking about your typical stop signs or other common ones.

Signs that appeared to be strange, odd and maybe even a bit ridiculous alway seemed to stand out. However, maybe these signs aren’t really what they seem to be.

At the top of my site I have a tab called Ridiculous Street Signs with a collection of signs I’ve spotted around the world as well as some which have been contributed by readers.

The signs which have caught my attention usually have a funny image or strange text. To a foreigner they might not make much sense but to a local they most likely have a meaning of some significance.

This leads me to an article from Slate which I just came across called What Is This Singaporean Road Sign Trying To Tell Us?

If I had spotted this sign during our trip to Singapore I would’ve almost definitely taken a photo of then written a post about it.

The sign seems pretty straightforward while not making much sense. What could an umbrella with a single raindrop really mean?

If I was reading it literally, I guess it could mean to use an umbrella when it rains- probably not information which warrants a street sign!

However, according to Slate, the sign is actually “pretty cool and ingenious.The signs lead to designated covered areas where motorcyclist can safely wait out a downpour.”

When we visited Singapore I don’t remember seeing any rain but the article says that when it does, “few will have ever seen the skies open like they do here. The city-state averages around 90 inches of rainfall per year.“

So much for this just being some ridiculous street sign!

Find out more about the story from Slate here.

Images in post from Slate article courtesy of Land Transport Authority of Singapore.