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Previous: TaxCut claim | Main | Next: Western Digital warning
April 15, 2005 10:14 PM
Broken: Dollar store sign
mmm, more or less fresh!
I think more or less is the catch phrase for the store, that the prices are all around a dollar, while the fresh flowers are completly unrelated and more or less a completly diffrent sign.
I agree with Tony M. There is a suspiciously wide gap where an F would easily fit. Either it fell out, was left out accidentally, or this is photoshopped.
I think the more or less applies to the dollar store itself and not the condition of the flowers . fresh flowers means fresh . the more or less are the prices in a dollar store : like candy bars are usually 45 or 50 cents a piece some grocery items are 65 cents to a few bucks and some toys are up to around 7-10 dollars each .
yeah, hmmm maybe an f could fit there that would make sense. I still think fresh floweres is undrealted to the above line.
Nope, folks, it ain't a typo and it ain't a photoshop: The name of the store is, indeed,
Dot's Dollar More Or Less
(412) 886-1975 300 Mount Lebanon Blvd
Pittsburgh, PA
Check out http://www.hellopittsburgh.com/YP/c_DISCOUNTSTORES.Cfm
and http://www.thecityofpittsburgh.com/shopping/ to verify for yourself (you'll have to scroll down the page on each).
So apparently it IS the name that is broken! Wouldn't More For Less be a better tagline?
That is not any better than the literalness (if you will) of the "Everything in the sotre is a Dollar"--or something like that-- stores. I have tried to buy the whole store for one dollar, but they wouldn't let me.
UM, It's not photoshopped, there are 2 of the stores listed in Pittsburgh , PA. It's just an odd name as someone above already pointed out. A friend of mine lives near Pittsburgh and I asked her about it and she has actually seen them.
Does not appear to be a painted sign - too uniform, and the fonts are precise. It's pressure-senstive vinyl, cut on a plotting machine, like most truck lettering, signs and banners.
Sloppy job, though, of application, as there IS too much spaces in front of the "or."
I don't see the confusion between More or Less and Fresh Flowers, as they are in different colors and fonts.
"I don't see the confusion between More or Less and Fresh Flowers, as they are in different colors and fonts."
yes well, do you see the closing marks on either side of "more or less" those lines that enclose that phrase "are" the same color as fresh flowers, and make the phrase "more or less" seem like it leads into the fresh flowers part.
I'd post a comment saying that folks ought to read the previously posted comments, but that would be broken, wouldn't it? ;-)
>Jeff:
>there IS too much spaces in front of the "or."
How much do ya wanna bet the sign company typed it into their plotter with the 'F' only to discover they had the tag line wrong?
"Hey, we'll just leave the F off and nobody will notice...."
Here's my take: While the spacing before and after the "or" IS uneven, there's not quite enough room to confortable stick an "F" in there, especially uppercase. The pink color of the lines is probably due to the lower cost of using only two colors in the sign, and is not meant to link the 2nd line to the 3rd. The first and second lines together is just a way of saying "cheap stuff" without committing every item to the exact $1.00 price. Also, "More or Less" is the same font as "DOT'S DOLLAR", but italicized. "FRESH FLOWERS" is a totally different font.
Here's my take: this business used to be called "Dot'$ Dollar More for Less".
The store was sold, and the new owners didn't want to go through the headache of redoing everything, so they just peeled the "f" off the "More or Less" part. They didn't want to add letters, because that would be a hassle, and there really aren't any other words that can have a letter easily removed and still make any semblance of sense.
This would explain both the strange spacing in the name which doesn't appear accidental, as well as the fact that there is verification of this store's naming elsewhere.
"Hey, we'll just leave the F off and nobody will notice...."
>>>>>>>>>>>
hey, we'll just leave. f off. no one will notice.
it's all in the grammar, eh?
As people mentioned, I think the store's name is actually "Dot'$ Dollar, More or Less" and the logic is that everything in the store costs "a dollar, more or less" ... i.e. "about a dollar". And, BTW, they also sell Fresh Flowers. In any case I agree that the sign has poor 'information design'. =)
I've been reading This Is Broken for over a year now.
I used to find it full of relevant entries and useful discussions.
Now I find it's full of petty stuff that doesn't matter one bit, presumably because all the stuff that was "really" broken has already been mentioned by now. The discussion usually goes along the lines of:
A: "this is broken"
B: "no it isn't, because "
C: "yes it is"
D: "no it isn't - I agree with "
E: "yes it is - I agree with "
... followed by lots of "if"s and "but"s.
I think we're all breaking This Is Broken just because we want to get our photos and comments on Mark's site. Come on folks - get your own website/blog and put your photos/comments on it!
Alternatively, Mark could change it into This Is Mildly Amusing. At least then it would do "exactly what it says on the tin".
(http://www.ronseal.com/ , for those of you who aren't familiar with that one.)
what does it say on the tin?
lighten up, squiggy.
>E. Yes it is. I agree with...
F. This whole freakin' site's broken and it's not as good as it used to be.
all part of the routine.
There are a lot of stupid signs and stores in the Pittsburgh area. In general, The mental status (i.e. intellect,maturity) of the native Pittsburgher doesn't progress beyond the sixth or seventh grade. I think the pollution of the past has caused genetic damage.
I checked with MS paint. there's very little chance this was photoshopped, unless it was a professional job. I think it's legit.
Comments on this entry are closed
Previous: TaxCut claim | Main | Next: Western Digital warning
i can't even tell what they were attempting to say by this sign. More or Less a Dollar?
i must say, the only readily available conclusion is that the flowers are more or less fresh.
can anyone figure out what message they rather failed to convey?
Posted by: Bob at April 15, 2005 11:04 PM