Another Reason Not to Smash the Type

This is what's called a snipe sign:


They're cheap, mass produced, usually selling something no one needs or offering dubious work, and always placed in places where they are not legally allowed to be.

The reason this one caught my attention was because I misread it as I drove past. That smashed font in the first line has been condensed to about half its intended width. Note how much wider the horizontal strokes are in the R, E, H, D and S -- they're supposed to be the same width, or actually a little thinner, than the vertical strokes.

The upshot is that when I went past at 30 miles an hour, I thought it said HANG STUDENTS. The letters I in HIRING disappear because they're so thin, and the R on its own looks a lot like an A when you're trying to figure out what might come between an H and an NG.

At least it did to me. Watch out, students!