A road sign in a North Yorkshire village has left people baffled due to its unusual wording – but one expert has been able to solve the mystery once and for all
A baffling road sign bearing the enigmatic message ‘Tek Care Red Squigs ont Road’ has sparked confusion and amusement among residents and visitors in North Yorkshire.
Spotted on a wooden post in the hamlet of Gayle, the peculiar signage went viral after it was shared on social media platforms Reddit and Facebook, quickly racking up more than 750 likes and dozens of comments.
While the first part of the written warning is easy enough to work out as it is advising road users to exercise caution, it’s predominantly the term ‘red squigs’, which is causing most consternation.
And it appears to be a quirky local way of saying that something is present on the road Social media was instantly abuzz with puzzled commentators, such as one Reddit user going by the username pearcelewis, who queried: “Anyone know what a Squig is?”.
Another person who stated they hailed from Yorkshire themselves, said they were just as mystified by the sign. Meanwhile, SufficientNeck chimed in with: “I can hear this sign,” reports Yorkshire Live. But amid all the suggestions, one user with the username madpacifist clarified that the cryptic sign actually means: “Take care, red squirrels on the road.”
Meanwhile names of British villages have caused amusement on social media after they were posted online by an American. Sharing a map online the post stated: “I’m American but I think I could live in Nether Wallop.”
Amongst the unusual names on the map are: Ae, Barton in the Beans, Beer, Besses o’ th’ Barn, Blubberhouses, Brawl, Botusfleming, Brokenwind, Brown Willy, Bunny, Catbrain, Chemistry, Crackpot, Crapstone, Curry Mallet, Donkey Town, Droop, Dull, Fattiehead, Giggleswick, Great Snoring, Horrid Hill, Jump, Lost, Loose Bottom, Nasty, Nether Wallop, Pity Me, Rest and be Thankful, Spunkie, Stranagalwilly, Wetwang, Wide Open, and Wig Wig.
However, in reality, this only scratches the surface of the bizarre names in the UK. There’s also Balls Cross, Bell End, Bitchfield, Boggy Bottom, Cocks, Crotch Crescent, Dicks Mount, Ding Dong, Fanny Barks, Fingringhoe, Nob End, Pratt’s Bottom, Rotten End, Sandy Balls, Scratchy Bottom, Twatt, and Windy Nook.
People from the UK and those around the world rushed to share their thoughts on the Reddit story, with many Americans saying they were in stitches over the locations. One Brit reminisced: “The day we found Nob End on an OS map was the day Mr Wilson finally lost control of our geography class.” Another UK resident quipped: “Well at least we don’t have a town called Gobbler’s Knob [referring to a park in Pennsylvania, US].”
