The zombie apocalypse isn’t coming (nor will it ever), but a few less savvy citizens of a tiny sliver of Pennsylvania may have thought otherwise. Thanks to the mischievous behavior of a bunch of troublemakers, a digital traffic sign on the East Market Street of Springettsbury Township informed people that the brain-munching monsters were en route.
As reported by USA Today, this message appeared in the area last Thursday.
“On May 17 at 16.58 hours STPD was dispatched to E Market St near Mt Zion Rd for the report of strange messages on a Penn Dot traffic board. It appears that someone gained access to the sign and typed in their own messages,” the Springettsbury Township Police Department explains in a Facebook post.
“We hope there was no public alarm today as there were no reports of Zombies anywhere in Springettsbury Township,” they add, much to some people’s relief.
It’s not clear how this particular prank was managed, but it’s fair to say that it caused mixed reactions, judging by the comments under the local police force’s post. Many thought it was well-meaning and fairly amusing – “they’re just silly words,” as one opined – whereas a few others appeared to suggest that it could unnecessarily scare the local kids.
Another message, said to be far more sexually explicit, appeared on another traffic sign at the same time. People have been inquiring as to what it says, but the police department remains schtum on the issue: “Let’s just say the other message is not G rated,” they explain.
Fair play to the police there for clearly having a good sense of humor. This is exemplified in response to someone asking them how they’ll ever know when a real zombie-based emergency has occurred.
“We use the color-coded Zombie alert system. Right now we are green,” they respond. “If it ever gets to orange we will release further instructions.”
The public generally seemed to approve of this vigilance. “Thanks for keeping us safe from the zombies. You do a great job, we haven't seen a single zombie,” one person commented.
