In Ojre, Norway, pedestrians crossing the street have been encouraged—by an official-looking street sign—to show off their best silly walk.
The art installation was an homage to Monty Python and its co-founder, the tall, lanky John Cleese.
Reidar Johannes Søby from the Kreativiteket art group told local broadcaster NRK that it was just for fun. “There’s no deep thought behind it,” he said.
Meanwhile, at the federal level, the bureaucrats at the Norwegian Public Roads Administration didn’t find it amusing at all. They said the signs should be taken down.
However, the Mayor of Marker Municipality, Kjersti Nythe Nilsen, apparently does have a sense of humor—and a little rebel inside her.
“I think the signs should be allowed. They are not any nuisance and are very similar to normal pedestrian crossing signs. In fact, no one has noticed that we have changed them, after all, they have been there a couple of months,” she said.
She said that despite the threat from the Norwegian Public Roads Administration, she has no plans to remove the signs and feels she must resort to a little civil disobedience.
The idea also spread to Ottawa, Canada—and we think a Silly Walks sign is just the remedy for boring commutes the world over.
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