Interesting sign above the urinals in the bathroom at Jinan airport:
靠前一小步 Move forward a small step
文明一大步 Make a great stride towards civilization
The English translation provided on the sign itself was somewhat less inspirational and certainly more obscure:
To preceding half step, a civilized stride
Well, I’ve never been so I have to ask: do Chinese men tend to use urinals from a greater distance than their accuracy merits?
I’m quite taken with the phrase “a civilized stride.” Not sure why.
I also like “a civilized stride”
I have seen similar signs throughout Europe and perhaps a few in the US too but not that often in public restrooms and often in humorous forms. In a bathroom in Norway I remember a sign that said, “Den er ikke så lang som du tror.” (“It is not as long as you think it is.”)
This sign, really gave me the feeling of contributing to something larger than myself when complying with its request.
I’ve seen it :)
But I guessed it was making fun of John Glenn’s words. “这对一个人来说，只不过是小小的一步，可是对人类来讲，却是巨大的一步。”
Well maybe not, but next time I’ll be sure to graffiti that on there. Anyhow wouldn’t the second sentence be better translated as ‘civilized’. Like “A big stride toward being more civilized.”