The Woes of Being a (Bad) Witness

Cool Hand Luke contains one of the most epic movie quotes ever when Strother Martin said: “What we’ve got here is a failure to communicate.”  Unfortunately, he was wrong. He should have said: “What we’ve got everywhere is a failure to communicate.” Apparently, a failure to communicate is a sign of our times. For instance, here’s a sign from a furniture store with a very interesting marketing campaign: “Buy this bed and get free one night stand.” Here’s a lecture slide gone awry: “The average North American consumes more than 400 Africans” (I must be below average because I haven’t consumed even one African!). It is seen in signs around swimming pools: “The pool is closed until further notice. Sorry for the incontinence” (I’m blaming autocorrect here). It is even seen in signs behind other signs! One company was advertising for new employees with a sign saying: “Help Wanted.” Behind