Chinese Tidbits

Engrish.com is a website that catalogs and collects funny English usage from around the world, either on signs, or on clothing, or wherever. As English has grown in importance over the decades, so has its cool-factor, and now in many parts of the world people like wearing clothing with English written on it just because it looks cool. It is similar to how in this country people often get tattoos or wear shirts with Chinese characters, just because they look cool. I agree, they do look cool, but we mess up the Chinese just as much as they mess up the English. There was a story on NPR today about a Chinese American guy who has started a blog about botched Chinese tattoos he has seen in the United States. So for anyone who has ever wondered if Chinese and Japanese people laugh at the Chinese characters they come across here, the answer is yes.