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From: yrdbrd@bmcg.UUCP (Larry J. Huntley)
Newsgroups: net.bizarre
Subject: Re: somewhat strange highway sign
Message-ID: <1866@bmcg.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 10-Sep-85 12:42:21 EDT
Article-I.D.: bmcg.1866
Posted: Tue Sep 10 12:42:21 1985
Date-Received: Sun, 15-Sep-85 12:14:42 EDT
References: <501@busch.UUCP>
Reply-To: yrdbrd@bmcg.UUCP (Larry J. Huntley)
Organization: Burroughs Corp. ASG, San Diego, CA.
Lines: 44

In article <501@busch.UUCP> dcm@busch.UUCP (Craig Miller) writes:
>
>......... I saw this sign in a
>construction zone somewhere (I think it was along I-64 in Kentucky,
>but I don't remember). It looked something like:
>
{NOTE: This figure has been edited for the sake of brevity.}
>                      =================== 
>                     ||     T E S T     ||
>                      =================== 
>                     ||     T E S T     ||
>                      =================== 
>                     ||                 ||
>                  ________              ||
>                  | test |              ||
>                  --------              ||		<-  legs of the sign
>                     ||                 ||
>
>Testing signs, maybe?  Anybody got any idea what this is all about?
>-- 
>	Craig Miller

I have seen things like this where what was being tested was the paint or
vinyl covering used to make the sign, or the reflective beads in the lettering.

Were all the signs the same color?  Sometimes highway departments or paint
companies test products that will be used for highway signs in the environment
for which they are intended.  It's a good test for weatherability, fume
resistance, etc.  There used to be a strip of road here in San Diego where
they were testing resistance and visibility of striping paints.  For about
a quarter of a mile there were paints of different colors, solids and stripes,
really striking at night when the lights hit the reflective ones.  After about
a year it was easily apparent that some were holding up much better than others.

-- 
Larry J. Huntley            Burroughs Corporation
                      Distributed Systems Group   MS-703
                  10850 Via Frontera   San Diego, CA  92128
                              (619)  485-4544

"Hiii, Boys."
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"Yeah, I bet you gave the guard a sleeve-job."