Careless translations can prove to be humorous to the consumer and/or embarrassing to the firm.

A firm was experiencing headaches caused by a poor translator. A Mexican magazine promotion for an American brand shirt carried a message stating the exact opposite of what had originally been intended. The advertisement, instead of declaring, “When I used this shirt, I felt good,” read “Until I used this shirt, I felt good.”

A number of years ago, American businessmen reported seeing a sign in a Tokyo hotel that read, “You are respectfully requested to take advantage of the chambermaids.”

An interesting sign in the former Czechoslovakia read, “Take one of our horse-driven tours. We guarantee no miscarriages.”

That, however, did not generate as much interest as the sign in a French shop window that read, “We sell dresses for street walking.”

One dentist in Hong Kong apparently advertised, “Teeth extracted by the latest Methodists.”

A more startling sign, however, showed up in the window of a tailor in Jordan. The sign advised the following: “Order your summers suit. Because if big rush we will execute customers in strict rotation.”

And a hotel in Mexico City has a sign that proclaims, “The manager has personally passed all the water served here.” !

It is probably best to assume that these signs were results of translation errors.