{"id":2462,"date":"2013-12-12T17:16:26","date_gmt":"2013-12-12T22:16:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.roadtrafficsigns.com\/blog\/?p=2462"},"modified":"2023-11-10T07:13:45","modified_gmt":"2023-11-10T12:13:45","slug":"road-signs-middle-earth","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.roadtrafficsigns.com/blog\/road-signs-middle-earth\/","title":{"rendered":"Road signs of Middle-Earth"},"content":{"rendered":"

Our office design crew is full of fans of The Hobbit, and with The Desolation of Smaug<\/a> opening tomorrow, we got together and cooked up a couple of signs that Bilbo, Thorin, Bard, Gandalf and company might have found handy in their travels.<\/p>\n

Not all who wander are lost, but they might need some signs along the way…<\/h2>\n

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Smaug could’ve used this one for sure.<\/p>\n

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When you’re on a job site, the last thing you want is a bunch of Cockney-sounding Stone Trolls ruining everything with their boulders and their unquenchable taste for humanoid flesh.<\/p>\n

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Gandalf’s sigil – which he uses to sign off on letters, and to do, well, pretty much everything else – shows up constantly in Tolkien’s series. We decided the American park system needed signage to indicate that Gandalf had come through, so we rendered his sign in campground brown.<\/p>\n

\"funny-middle-earth-road-sign-k-0397\"<\/a><\/p>\n

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The Ringwraiths, or Nazgul, are among the most feared creatures in all of Middle-Earth, ticketing for busted taillights and day-late registration, persecuting drivers who do 51 in a 50 zone…<\/p>\n

\"funny-road-speed-limit-sign-k-0390\"<\/a><\/p>\n

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Just trust us – you’re better off going the long way around.<\/p>\n

\"detour-through-moria-funny-sign-k-0403\"<\/a><\/p>\n

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The third time Bilbo demonstrates his heroism to the dwarves: their memorable escape from Mirkwood by barrel.<\/p>\n

\"barrels-may-contain-hobbits-sign-s-6386\"<\/a><\/p>\n

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One of relatively few locations described in detail in both\u00a0The Hobbit<\/em> and\u00a0The Lord of the Rings<\/em>, it’s handy to know where Rivendell is.<\/p>\n

\"rivendell-rest-area-funny-sign-k-0398\"<\/a><\/p>\n

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Crebain – swarms of malevolent, crow-like creatures – don’t actually show up until\u00a0The Lord of the Rings<\/em>, but we figured no one would mind too much.<\/p>\n

\"funny-dont-feed-crebain-sign-k-0393\"<\/a><\/p>\n

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This phrase isn’t from\u00a0The Hobbit<\/em>, either, and may not even\u00a0be in the novels of\u00a0The Lord of the Rings<\/em>. But hey, it’s in the movie version of\u00a0The Fellowship of the Ring<\/em>, it’s a meme, and that’s all the excuse our designers needed.<\/p>\n

\"shall-not-pass-funny-sign-k-0388\"<\/a><\/p>\n

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The Rohirim are no laughing matter. They pick up litter all the way from Eriador to the shores of the Entwash River. It’s a big job.<\/p>\n

\"adopt-a-highway-funny-sign-k-0389\"<\/a><\/p>\n

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One of the enduring mysteries of the Lord of the Rings: why did Bilbo and Frodo walk all the way from the Shire to the Crack of Mount Doom, when travel by giant eagle is so much quicker and safer?<\/p>\n

\"eagle-transport-funny-road-sign-k-0391\"<\/a><\/p>\n

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The last thing anyone wants is to drive through a pack of ents on their way to an entmoot. If warned by one of these signs, responsible motorists will find another way through.<\/p>\n

\"ents-xing-funny-traffic-sign-k-0404\"<\/a><\/p>\n

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Is it Smaug? Is it Thorin? Does either truly deserve to be named King Under the Mountain? Either way, he has a parking spot set aside, just for him.<\/p>\n

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We’re not sure how useful a map that’s only visible in moonlight actually is. After all, is that really enough to read by? Usability alert, Thr\u00f3r!<\/a><\/p>\n

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It figures that the author of a book entitled\u00a0There and Back Again<\/em> comes from the land of redundant traffic circles.<\/p>\n

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…And perhaps when Bilbo finally made it back to the Shire, he was greeted with this sign.
\n\"welcome-to-hobbiton-funny-sign-k-0396\"<\/a><\/p>\n

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Like this topic? Check out our related products:<\/h3>\n
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