The Famous Road Sign – Most Stolen Item
by jeulya on 22/07/11 at 11:00 am
Road signs cost less than a hundred dollar or less than £10 depending on the material being used. But did you know that there is a road sign that is frequently stolen in spite the fact that its just an ordinary looking road mark?
The Famous Road Sign
“FUCKING : Bitte nicht so schnell!” is a German road sign that means “FUCKING : Please not so fast!”. This road sign is a reminder to motorists not to drive fast and to follow the allowed speed limit.
Stolen Road Sign
Generally, road signs are not stolen (unless precious metals are in there)– they are usually destroyed by some unscrupulous people or groups who find nothing worthwhile to do in their lives.
But did you know there is one place in the world where road signs are often stolen? Yes, stolen not because they are valuable, but for souvenir purposes.
Every resident of this place is obliged under law to pay £300 for stolen, missing road signs. The cost can not be denied–it is reflected on the taxes they paid.
The FAMOUS Place
Don’t get me wrong—Fucking is the place where road signs is often stolen. As the name implies, it sounds obscene, vulgar and considered offensive not only in the English-speaking world, but to everyone who knows the word.
Fucking: [German fʊkɪŋ], pronounce as fooking, is a village located 33 kilometers north of Salzburg and 4 kilometers east of German border in Austria. The name was founded in the 6th century by a Bavarian nobleman named Focko. Over the centuries, the name has evolved until the 18th century when it spelled as Fucking. The added -ing is an old Germanic suffix indicating the people who live in the place, therefore Fucking means the place where Focko people live.
Stealing as the Only Crime
Having a population of only 104, Fucking village has become famous for its name, hence tourists flock there more often . Equipped with photo cameras, mobile phones and video cameras, tourists are so eager to get souvenirs no matter what . However, some are not contented with picture-taking that they resort to stealing–the road signs.
The rampant stealing prompted the Fucking residents to ask changing the name of their village. However, owing to the name’s existence approximately around 800 years, majority voted to stick to the name.
To stop the stealing, the famous road signs are modified—welded now to steel and secured in concrete.
Fucking mayor Siegfried Höppl said in his pleading words to tourists…”Today, we have successfully stopped these Fucking tourists from stealing the Fucking signs from the Fucking village, announced Fucking police captain Gerhard Scheissenschlager at the press conference. The chief was very happy about the arrests and hopes to put more effort into preventing future…[excerpts from]
Nearby villages named Oberfucking and Unterfucking (Upper and Lower Fucking) also experienced the same problem. However, they too modified their road signs.
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