Bhutan's dark sense of humour | Hacker News Reader

Bhutan's dark sense of humour

bbc.com

116 pointshappy-go-lucky42 comments

On the autobahns around Berlin, under the American occupation, signs said that one shouldn't speed, because death was so permanent. But the chaplains or some other religious folks objected, and so the signs were taken back down. (Source: My father, who worked for the Americans as a translator.)

These phrases are pretty common on Indian roads, especially in mountainous regions. Kind of a BRO signature.

BRO = Border Roads Organization (?). Not the frat 'bro'..

Yes, but the signs read so much better if you interpret it the other way. :)

So the title is misleading. The sense of humor comes from this Indian organization and it is also applied elsewhere out of Bhutan.

I wouldn't say that Bhutan lacks a sense of humor. It is the happiest place on Earth, after all.

Sure, but that doesn't apply to this particular case (BRO signs) which is used as the primary example in this article of 'Bhutan's' dark sense of humour.

Second that. I've seen these signs in many places in the Indian parts of the Himalayas. Even the BRO wikipedia page shows a sign with exactly the same witticism from Ladakh. So this makes this a purely Indian sense of humor.

BRO is Indian Roads organization. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Border_Roads_Organisation

As someone who spent time in Indian borders (Tibet/Nepal) these signs are pretty common.

BBC incorrectly attributed this to "dark sense of humour of Bhutan" but then again when have they been right about India?

> BBC incorrectly attributed this to "dark sense of humour of Bhutan"

The headline author did. But the article mentions both the fact BRO is Indian and the fact these signs exist in other Indian border areas.

>> Over the years, the Border Roads Organisation has also built and maintained roads in other countries neighbouring India, including Afghanistan, Burma and Sri Lanka. Today, they largely employ local workers, but historically, many Indians took on the difficult and dangerous work. Their ability to have a sense of humour in challenging circumstances is clear both in their brilliant road signs and in their mission.

archive.is link for brits - http://archive.is/hfA17

Thankyou <3

what is that / why is it necessary?

"We're sorry but this site is not accessible from the UK as it is part of our international service and is not funded by the licence fee. It is run commercially by BBC Worldwide, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the BBC, the profits made from it go back to BBC programme-makers to help fund great new BBC programmes. You can find out more about BBC Worldwide and its digital activities at www.bbcworldwide.com."

Is that the famous TV tax?

It is indeed.

So parts of BBC can't be viewed in the UK? Ironic.

Because they contain advertising, which Britons have paid to not see. Irony all around.

Love that "late" sign. Reminds me of H2G2 -

Slartibartfast: Come. Come now or you will be late.

Arthur: Late? What for?

Slartibartfast: What is your name, human?

Arthur: Dent. Arthur Dent.

Slartibartfast: Late as in the late Dentarthurdent. It's a sort of threat, you see. I've never been terribly good at them myself but I'm told they can be terribly effective.

Was actually expecting a juxtaposition of their Gross National Happiness PR vs. the actual human rights situation. This still reads like an quirky advertorial travel guide.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gross_National_Happiness#Criti...

Their sense of humour extends beyond road signs. After spending three weeks travelling across the country I found the Bhutanese to have a very relaxed, humorous way of looking at everything life, big and small.

Here's a sign I saw while in Bhutan that is presumably trying to encourage fewer children: http://www.redyeti.net/Bhutan/content/bin/images/large/IMG_2...

"Life is a journey, complete it" … shouldn't that be "DON'T complete it"?

Cut short != complete

dying would prevent you from completing the journey

No. Just because something is over doesn't mean that it's complete.

Reminds me of the old BurmaShave signs that used to be so common in the usa.

An example: Dont stick your elbow out so far It might come home In another car

It went out of favor as sign laws popped up. You can still see some along rt66 and a few other old highways.

On a dangerous curve on the road to my home village in Nova Scotia (Canada), an evangelical church posted a sign that said "Prepare to Meet Thy Maker" which I thought --even as a kid-- was apt though little morbid.

Brits: The BBC is forbidden from undertaking any commercial activity within the UK in their charter. While obviously quite integral to the way the BBC works and is able to work, this sort of restriction is a weird side-effect.

Is the article blocked in the UK?

  > We're sorry but this site is not accessible from the UK as it is part of
  > our international service and is not funded by the licence fee.

Yes, somewhat of a surprise to me when I went to read it. Obivously I understand the reasoning behind it, but it's a weird side effect, particularly when it's available on a website that I assume isn't directly charging users, but I guess it's the best way to avoid any sniff of a conflict on the BBC's charter.

It has advertising on it, and that's probably not allowed for core BBC?

No, but previously it was possible to access some commercial BBC services in the UK in the past (I'm sure it was beeb.com, but could well be wrong). It was clearly marked as being a commercial site, etc., but I guess the landscape has changed with Internet advertising since then and it's far easier for your information to be exploited without realising it now?

As mentioned above, this archive link works: http://archive.is/hfA17

Brit on a corporate O2 mobile. Archive.io is for some reason blocked for under 18s

You can bypass obscenity filters with archive.io, so better block it. (is the thinking)

Does your corporation hire many under-18s?

I'm a bit confused about why this is considered a commercial activity; there's no advertising, or paywall, or anything like that.

It likely takes its funding from private sources rather than the TV license.

can't see the page since we're considered in UK, but from my half year spent there backpacking many road signs are indeed funny, especially in himalayan regions (himachal pradesh, ladakh). One stuck in my head for 9 years since seeing it:

"Left is right and right is wrong"

Have you been backpacking in Bhutan too? I thought VISAs were expensive and hard to get, and very limited in length too.

Pedro Walked Back home by golly His bristly chin Was hot-to-Molly Burma Shave

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