A design trap at the playground

A design trap is when you start off with what seems like a good idea, then cling to it even when it obviously isn’t working. It appears that happened with this sign. I have obscured the name of the local body that made it because they had good intentions. The sign prohibits four things: Smoking Alcohol Drugs Loitering For smoking, they used the internationally recognized symbol of a circle with a slash through it and a cigarette in the middle. So far, so good. So good, in fact, that it seemed like the perfect way to express other bans. Unfortunately, it was the beginning of a slippery slope. For alcohol, things got tricky because alcohol mainly comes in bottles and cans, which in pictogram form would not necessarily be recognized as containing alcohol. So they chose a martini glass, complete with olive. Outside of James Bond movies, I’m pretty sure I have never seen a martini glass. Maybe I need to get out more. Still, the thought of miscreants sipping martinis on a playground seems…