THROWBACK Happy Thought for 24 January 2020

Have a happy thought:

 

Your car is trying to talk to you. Ok, it’s not your car, it’s the engineers and designers that created the car. And not so much “talk to you” as “make sure you know important things about your car”.

 

I’m talking about all those symbols that come up on your dashboard. If you’ve been driving for more than a couple of years you probably know most of these. That’s why I especially love this website, that explains all of the symbols but then describes them the way you probably first saw them. Hope these make you chuckle (and you might learn something, too!)

 

I’ve included a few of my faves; but hit up the links at the bottom of the email for more funny, and then actual, explanations of your dashboard lights. This concludes your public service announcement in advance of a long weekend during which you’re probably going to go for a long drive and you should really pay attention to your car’s warning lights!

 

A pirate ship with its sails down as if to say, “I’m just a normal boat, no pirates here.”

What it actually is: ENGINE TEMPERATURE WARNING LIGHT

 

 

A jellyfish leaping through a waterfall.

What it actually is: FOG LAMP INDICATOR – your fog lights are on

PS, you know how they tell you not to use your brights (high-beams) in the fog? Well, I was driving in the Great Smoky Mountains in the southeastern USA in really foggy conditions one time, and seeing that the road ahead of me was well clear of traffic (I could tell this because I was properly using my fog lights), I decided to test exactly why “they” always tell you this. So I switched my brights on. Yup, visibility went down to about 2 metres (6 feet for those of you in the USA), but it was beautiful! Like every droplet of fog turned into a snowflake.


Anywho… back to the indicator lights

 

 

A Buckingham Palace guard telling you the field goal is GOOD!


What it actually is: TIRE PRESSURE WARNING LIGHT

 

 

Math LEGO


What it actually is: BATTERY ALERT  - The car's charging system is short of power. You are running solely on battery.

 

 

A snake-infested ATM


What it actually is: FUEL INDICATOR SYMBOL.

Fun fact: The arrow next to it indicates which side of the car has the tank. No more gas station three-point turns in rental* cars ever again!

        *or your own car, if the cars you drive for work have the fuel tank on the opposite side. Or you just don’t fill up very often. Or you just have a short memory.

        Or all of the above, in my case, apparently…

 

 

A man wearing a tie, shaking his fist at you as he falls down. Why did you push him? (tilt your head 45o to the left)


What it actually is:  AIRBAG INDICATOR - There may be an issue with one or more of your car's airbags

 

 

A conductor's point of view, tapping her music stand and preparing to lead an orchestra consisting of two candy canes that are stuck together.


What it actually is: WASHER FLUID INDICATOR - The washer fluid level is low. Please fill that up when you get a chance, your car is thirsty.

 

 

For more indicator light meanings:

Funny:

https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/63747/meanings-behind-these-15-symbols-your-cars-dashboard

Serious (also, explains more symbols than the ‘funny’ article does)

https://www.driven.co.nz/advice/advice/complete-guide-to-the-64-warning-lights-on-your-dashboard/

 


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