Journal: News & Comment

Is that IMPORTANT, WARNING, CAUTION, or PLEASE NOTE?

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Jakob Nielsen:

In the United States, for example, you can't buy a lawnmower without a label saying that you're not supposed to mow your feet. Most instruction manuals are littered with "important" warnings that caution against obvious stupidities, burying actual dangers amid a mass of irrelevancy. An out-of-control legal system has made a joke of the entire warnings concept; products are now less safe because nobody bothers to read warnings anymore.

This past weekend, my wife and I drove into an underground parking lot with so many warning signs (TWO WAY TRAFFIC, LOW CLEARANCE, NO STOPPING, AIR INTAKE - SHUT OFF ENGINE, etc.) packed into a tight space that we laughed out loud—and couldn't really pay attention to any of them.

My favourite warning is this one.

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