If you visit older freeway underpasses or locales frequented by train hoppers and transients, there's a chance you'll spot the remnants of a fairly primitive-looking graffiti. Used by American vagabonds of yesteryear, hobo signs communicated a range of messages to fellow travelers. If you're dying to learn how, check out these decoded symbols (roll over images for the English transl.) [via vagabondish]. It's striking how ideograms stand for very specific, nuanced phrases like "Road Spoiled. Full of other hobos" and "Religious talk will get you a meal here."
What's even more interesting -- and I'm not the first to point this out -- is the way similar, minimalist scrawls were once adopted to denote hotspots. Back in '02, people were all a buzz over the warchalking phenomenon. What I'm wondering is whether the practice, like hobo signs, has more or less died out. I know there are plenty of wibos online, but do any of 'em still communicate via chalk irl? [image via dottyparker]
