Live from the Isle of Wight (where I am staying at a great place called The Ruskin Lodge ), I am sending in a post that is literally ‘hot off the presses’. I was on an early morning walk along the downs on the southwest side of island (just a couple of hours ago), when I encountered the following sign:
I wondered if this sign was the first time that someone reading it considered the dangers of cliffs, would this sign be enough to prevent cliff-top tragedy befalling the reader?
Certainly most people are very well aware of the dangers of cliffs and wouldn’t rely upon or even need a sign to remind them of such dangers. But for those unfamiliar with cliffs and the inherent risks to those atop them, would this little sign provide sufficient protection?
Ha ha! Another ‘elfin safety’ ruse? Straight from BFO-land. Where BFO, as you know, stands for Blinding Flash of the Obvious, which is what most people falling off the cliff may report seeing.
If one’s instinctual distaste for falling from great heights hasn’t kicked in by this point, I wonder what good this sign would do.
If you didn’t already know that you should be careful around cliff edges, this sign doesn’t really help you to understand why the cliff edges could be dangerous. If your instinct didn’t tell you that the height and danger of falling should make you take care, you might think this sign is telling you cliff edges are dangerous due to violent hoodlums; and while looking up scouting for said hoodlums you could pitch right over the edge.
@ Shefaly – I’ve not heard from the BFO phrase before. It’s brilliant! Can I use it? Shall I credit you as its source?
@ Conall – Excellent point! I think we need to email the Isle of Wight authorities forthwith! If we act quickly enough, we may just save a mother’s child …
@ Liam:
Wisdom should be dispersed far and wide. Please use it liberally 🙂
BTW I did not invent it; it is part of common phraseology used by consultants/ managers etc.
Obviously having too much time on my hands, I had a wee look online and it seems there are many variants of BFO:
Acronym Definition
BFO Backhaul Follow On
BFO Balanced Forearm Orthosis
BFO Basic Formal Ontology
BFO BattleField Outlaws
BFO Beat Frequency Oscillator
BFO Befalets Felles Organisasjon (Norwegian labour union)
BFO Bellmore Faculty Organization
BFO Best & Final Offer
BFO Bible Factory Outlet (book store)
BFO Biomechanical Functional Orthotics
BFO Blanket Factory Outlet (Indianapolis, IN)
BFO Blazing Flash of the Obvious
BFO Blinding Flash of the Obvious
BFO Blood Forming Organ
BFO Bug-Fix Only (software release)
BFO Bunker Fuel Oil
I was going to choose a favourite, but it’s too, too hard….
Hi Olivia,
Well, I think that makes for a rather definitive list! Awesome! Ha-ha. I am rather fond of Befalets Felles Organisasjon.
Would it be wrong of me to agree with you that you may just have too much time on your hands?