Burma Shave

People under the age of fifty may not be aware of those Burma Shave signs along America's highways. Their pithy verses often had great lessons for travelers. The red and white signs were spaced far enough apart that you could read them comfortably while driving at the normal speed of 55 mph. Here is an example for those who don't know what they were.

A drive along a country road often brought smiles, even laughter, to everyone in the car as they read the sayings.

At first, the company used the signs only to advertise its product, a brushless shaving cream. Later, the rhyming verses had a message in addition to the final sign which said, "Burma Shave".


Guess what has happened. The signs are no longer used, and neither is Burma Shave. When Interstate highways came along, such signs were not used and would not have been read much if they had continued to be used.

Here are a few of the witty Burma Shave sign messages:

Drinking drivers,
Nothing worse.
They get the quart
Before the hearse.
Burma Shave.


You'll love your wife;
You'll love her paw.
You'll even love
Your mother-in-law
If you use Burma Shave
Burma Shave.