Engrish
For those of you who don't know, there's a phenomenon particularly among Asian countries called "Engrish". Engrish is made up of signs, graphic T's, books, food products, menus, toys, and the like made with slightly incorrect or strange English on them. I don't know how long it's been around but I think it's becoming more and more popular. There's even a website, www.engrish.com which hosts a collection of perfect Engrish. Now before I get accused of poking fun at anyone (it's not just Japan it's other countries too) I have to say that Americans aren't fault free either. I read that Britney Spears just found out that her Asian tattoo makes no sense, I've seen people at home wearing things like hats that have the Chinese character for "leg" on them, and just think how you'd fare if you had to make a T-shirt in a foreign language. So just relax, check out the website if you like, and have a good laugh. My favorite personal encounters with Engrish include: my friends shirt saying "Love makes the world go lound", moist towelettes called "finger wipers", Winnie the Pooh knock off merchandise that says "Just Pooh", my towel that says "Deliciousness, happiness, joy... I'm at the top of the world. strawberry", and just today while shopping with my friend we found a great shirt. She bought it because it said "I opened up a can of child." with a picture of a kid in a tin can on the front. On the back it said, "What a surprise he is good at doing magic tricks. I opened up a can of child. I always listen to music at home. I used to take lessons in the piano. Can Opener." Oh... It's so funny.
- posted by Chris @ 10:59 PM