Beet It!

There are many different road signs indicating all types of dangers you can encounter (slippery road, icy bridge, truck crossing, sharp curve, railroad, cow crossing, and on and on...), but I'm pretty sure that the one I saw this week was one of the more original:

This particular sign is only a few minutes from my house. Even though I have lived in the same place for over 4 years, I somehow didn't notice this sign before, or if I did, it didn't register. For those that don't speak French, if you Google 'betteraves', you will learn that it means... beets!

Yes, apparently the biggest danger on this quiet, narrow country lane is beets! According to the pictogram on the sign, one risks a beet-related spin-out in this curve.

To be fair, beets are grown all over the region, and there are several processing plants in the vicinity. It is reasonable that they would warn people that slow-moving beet trucks and tractors share the roadway, and that they often leave slippery muddy tracks. However, instead of a 'Slow-Moving Beet Truck' or 'Slippery Due To Beet-Mud' sign, the local authorities clearly went for simplicity in installing their 'BEETS' sign.

So no one fear, as I head out to work today I will have my eyes peeled for sneaky little beets, hiding in the tall grass, ready to jump out at me...

(And for fans of the American TV show "The Office", I looked but did not see a sign for 'Schrute Farms' nearby...)