Bathroom humor

[keatonatron]

I've noticed some interesting (and humorous) signs in restrooms in Japan, which seem more colorful that what we would consider "appropriate" in the US.

For one, I was working at a small company (6-10 employees, all male), and in the bathroom there was this sign:



I thought the informal tone was funny and so I snapped this picture, but then a friend of mine pointed out that it is a haiku, which makes it even better!

This next one comes from above the urinals in a men's restroom backstage at the "Hibiya Open-Air Concert Hall" (日比谷野外音楽堂).



I think this really shows the frankness that the Japanese have in regards to the human body, and makes you (well, me anyway) realize how unnecessarily uptight we are in the US (and elsewhere) about what is "proper" to be expressed in a public area.

(For those of you who need to look up words in a dictionary, the text is:
最低限
うんこをしたら
流そうぜ
and
一歩前
君のは、こんなに長くない！)

I wonder if anyone else has seen any interesting signs.... (I'm looking at you, Mike!)

[two_heads_talking]

All the humorous signs that I have seen were where the English was translated incorrectly or in such a manner to make one laugh.. but you can find all that stuff on Engrish.com.

[Mike Cash]

Somebody put up signs above the urinals at a warehouse I often go to.

詰まりの原因にまりますので使用後水を流して下さい.

It used to make me question my Japanese ability. Finally I asked a native speaker to confirm my suspicion that it was odd. Anybody else see the problem with it?

[keatonatron]

まります？

Is this a typed sign?

I figured you'd see some interesting signs with the type of work you do

[astaroth]

what is まります？ And why does it have ので after it?!

[keatonatron]

what is まります？ And why does it have ので after it?!

It's supposed to be なります.

[astaroth]

I see, thanks.
But I still don't understand the ので after it ... shouldn't it be in dictionary form なるので？

[Yudan Taiteki]

Either is fine. なりますので is just a lot more polite/formal.

[two_heads_talking]

what is まります？ And why does it have ので after it?!

It's supposed to be なります.

You know I spent about 3 hours trying to figure out what the hell marimasu could mean.. lol..

[astaroth]

Either is fine. なりますので is just a lot more polite/formal.

Thanks. I'm (obviously) still very much stuck with 'whatever my textbook says is the Word' ...

[two_heads_talking]

Either is fine. なりますので is just a lot more polite/formal.

Thanks. I'm (obviously) still very much stuck with 'whatever my textbook says is the Word' ...

It's ok, even when you hear it for the first time, you still say to yourself, did they really just say that? I found that I would write down things I heard, then research them, and then I'd ask someone to make sure I understood..

[astaroth]

It's ok, even when you hear it for the first time, you still say to yourself, did they really just say that? I found that I would write down things I heard, then research them, and then I'd ask someone to make sure I understood..

Though I'm wondering ... is it strictly grammatically correct? Or is it just a "common practice"?
That is in Italian it's not rare to hear a conditional or an indicative mood instead of the grammatically correct subjunctive: we "know" it's wrong still at times we use it in informal settings ... so I'm wondering whether it happens the same in Japanese. (As much as I think it does happen in English too.)

[Yudan Taiteki]

It's ok, even when you hear it for the first time, you still say to yourself, did they really just say that? I found that I would write down things I heard, then research them, and then I'd ask someone to make sure I understood..

Though I'm wondering ... is it strictly grammatically correct?

Yes. ~ます is grammatically a verb, so it can go anywhere a normal verb can.

[keatonatron]

Yes. ~ます is grammatically a verb, so it can go anywhere a normal verb can.

You also see it a lot in formal introductions.

In language school I used 私、アメリカから参りましたジェームズと申します.

[Mike Cash]

Since everyone focused solely on my typographical error I assume that the oddness of the sentence itself is so readily apparent as to elicit no comment.