‘What ‘Do not…’ sign you have seen that was only there because people had done it?’ – 21 rather worrying warnings

There are signs all over the place telling us not to do things: no ball games, keep off the grass, do not enter, and many more. These are all rather generic, but sometimes we come across a warning sign that is so incredibly specific, it is very obvious that someone has done the thing now being warned against, presumably with not ideal consequences.

Over on the AskUK subreddit, user stevecoath asked this:

What is the worst ‘Do not…’ sign you have seen that made you realise it was only there because people had done that? For me it was when I moved my youngest into student accommodation and there was a large official laminated sign in the kitchen that said: ‘Do not use the hoover to vacuum up poo or sick’.

Which brings about visions of an incredibly unpleasant scenario. Plenty of other people had seen signs that were also worryingly niche:

1.

‘A pair of hair straighteners that said ‘For EXTERNAL use only’ on.’
–Altruistic_Lock_3918

2.

‘I got a text message from my GP that said ‘This is a reminder to all our patients not to send unsolicited urine and stool samples to the clinic’.’
–Opening-Worker-3075

3.

‘I saw one in Staines Town centre that said ‘This carousel is here to raise money for sick children so please, youth of Staines, do not kick it in.”
–Opening-Worker-3075

4.

”Please do not lower your child into the hippo enclosure to take photos with the animals.’ At a zoo outside the UK.’
–I_ALWAYS_UPVOTE_CATS

5.

‘DO NOT EAT written in English and French on a novelty fridge magnet, just in case you’re stupid in multiple languages.’
–Outraged_Chihuahua

6.

‘Most recent one ‘Do not put samples in letter box’ at my GP.’
–SamVimesBootTheory

7.

‘‘PARENTS: WHEN COLLECTING PLEASE PUT PHONES AWAY AND GREET YOUR CHILD’. Sign outside a NURSERY in Islington, London.’
–According_Sundae_917

8.

‘In my first year flat I printed and laminated the How To website page for taking a shower and stuck it to the wall. I think one of my housemates came home hammered once and cried because they couldn’t remember how to shower.’
–Cuznatch

9.

‘I worked in a place that had a sign in the toilets saying ‘Please flush used toilet paper down the toilet. Don’t put it in the bin.’ Apparently the plumbing in many rural areas of some countries can’t cope with toilet paper. Septic tanks perhaps.’
–Gutternips

10.

‘Not quite a sign but at an escape room, one of the rules given was ‘Don’t eat anything you find in the room’ so I had to ask. Apparently at a previous game, some players presumed that some prop blood bags and the blood type puzzle was meant to be solved by taste test.’
–coldestclock

11.

”Please don’t flush incontinence pads down the toilets, thank you.’ This was in a pub and I realised I needed to go to another place, mainly one where most of the clientele’s virginity had fallen after the Berlin wall did.’
–weenumpty2