Republic of Athens

Cans only…

Speaking of ambiguous messages, this gem was found near an East State Street parking lot in Athens.

Especially given the absence of punctuation, conceivable interpretations of this message may include, but are not limited to, the following:

1. “Cans only, especially if you’re Jesus.”

2. “Cans! But ONLY if you’re Jesus. No exceptions.”

3. “Please place only cans in here,” followed by the unrelated but inexplicably nearby word, “Jesus.”

4. The proximity of the words might be intentional, the implication being that the request for “Cans only” has come to us from Jesus himself.

5. “This is where cans go,” and by the way — on a separate, decidedly more religious note– the bold proclamation of “ONLY JESUS!” Possibly a sticker-wielding vandal bent on encouraging both recycling and a mass conversion to Christianity.

6. Perhaps it’s the case that too many people have recklessly used the “Cans only” bin for other, non-can waste. The individual responsible for maintaining the “Cans only” bin may have then decided to add to the label an exasperated profanity — “Jesus!”

7. Or perhaps it’s an instructional message, not for that Jesus, but for a trash collector who happens to be named Jesus… kind of like, “Hey, Jesus. Just a friendly reminder that this recepticle contains only cans.”