Travel Scam! New Study Finds 4 Out Of 5 Multiple-Travel-Arrow-Direction Signs Are Inaccurate

Long revered as reliable navigation tools for travelers around the world, sign posts with multiple arrows displaying the distance to prominent world locations have recently been revealed to be far less accurate than advertised.

These sign posts, frequent fixtures of hostel common areas, scenic overlooks, and Instagram backgrounds, may not be as honest as their rustic charm would suggest. For years they seemed reliable enough, but after Australian backpacker, and by all accounts, “legit dude”, Samuel Bockson drowned following one of these signs from Mallorca to Morocco, scrutiny was inevitable. An investigation revealed that Bockson (or “Bock the Cock” as his acquaintances insisted he be referred to as) died not as a result of any foul play, but due to being directed 400 miles in the wrong direction. And not knowing how to swim.

So we decided to put these sign posts to the test. We used the famous post on South Africa’s Cape of Good Hope as our guinea pig (or dassie in this case), and followed each arrow in a straight line to determine their accuracy. The results were mixed to say the least. The arrow pointing to London led us to Tel Aviv, the arrow pointing to the Men’s bathroom led to the Women’s, and the arrow pointing to Sydney led us to Melbourne. Melbourne! If you’ve made non-cancelable reservations and are relying this sign post for directions you’re likely SOL. The arrow pointing to Florida actually directed us toward an island of rotting garbage floating in the middle of the ocean. So at least one of them was accurate, but the average was not impressive.

So what should we do with these monuments of disinformation? Of course leaving them up preserves our history of reminding ourselves that there are locations where we are not and that these places exist in relation to us. But is that really something to celebrate? Is this the new normal? Did Bock the Cock die for nothing? Was he really an “absolute fucking legend” as his friends demanded we mention?

Trust is an invaluable quality on the road. Just don’t expect to find it in a wooden pole with a bunch of pointy planks nailed into it. You’ve been warned…