Mixed Messages

The subway has a number of animated public service announcements to instruct people on how to use the subway, or that they should line up for the bus, if a dog bites them, they should get a rabies shot, and if the elevator is jammed, try to relax and mechanic staff will get you out... eventually.

A series of cartoons features a round green frog who gets involved in a number of situations. He's been trampled on while trying to get into a subway carriage, or trying to stop someone from stealing money, or been thrown out of a car from driving his car too fast in a road race.

But more recently the rotund frog has gotten himself in some scatological situations.

The latest installments have the frog boarding the bus and seeing a cute pink and equally round female frog in the driver's seat, he tries to pick her up, even giving her his name card.

But she rejects him and forces him to sit at the back. The next scene shows a dog doing a No. 2 right at the bus stop and then the bus arrives, the backdoor opens and the frog steps in the doggy doo.

Shocked, he tries to rub it off on a nearby pole, but then fido has conveniently dropped another one near by that the frog steps into again, slips and you can imagine how disgusting it is. I don't even know what the moral of the story is -- is it for dog owners to pick up after their pooches, or for commuters to watch whey they step?

The other episode is where the green frog waits for the elevator. When the doors open, the elevator is already quite full. He steps in and then a blue crab comes in right behind him. However, the elevator sounds the alarm that it is over the weight limit -- the maximum is 1,300 kilograms. But the crab has decided he is staying put, and rattling his nasty pincers at the frog, the poor green guy is forced out of the elevator.

He patiently waits for the next one, which again is almost full. He decides that like the crab, he will not budge even though the elevator is over the weight limit. However, this time other people are angry with him and try to force him out verbally. That doesn't work so they start trying to shove him out. After quite a scuffle, he's pushed almost halfway out  and then all of a sudden the elevator says the total weight in the elevator is now 1,299 kilograms.

The doors then close with the frog inside.

How did that happen? Did he lose 1 kilogram from the melee?

On the floor he left behind is a fresh piece of dung that apparently weighed 1 kilo.

So is the message here that if the elevator you're in is over the weight limit, you should take a crap to lessen the load, literally?

Are these cartoons supposed to be entertaining or informative? Sometimes you have to wonder what they are trying to tell the public these days...