Teh One Who Knocks
02-24-2023, 10:59 AM
By SOPHIE MANN FOR DAILYMAIL.COM
https://i.imgur.com/EvWPdGW.png
A simple stop sign outside of a Walmart in Auburn, Maine is terrorizing local residents who can't seem to stop crashing into it, to the extent that one woman asked for its removal in her obituary.
Local Police Chief Jason Moen said police have responded to crashes at the pole at least 130 times since 2020. The city's Fire Chief called it 'an inordinate amount of emergencies.'
It is unclear why such an astoundingly high number of people have managed to hit the bright yellow pole, but it lives in infamy in its community, and beyond, thanks to social media.
https://i.imgur.com/TwOMRqO.png
A multitude of media outlets have covered the magnetic power that the pole seems to have on local cars.
The sign has, in fact, become so well known that people drive to the sign, hopefully avoiding it, to see it in person and take selfies with it.
A 9-year-old girl went viral after asking her mother to take her to the pole for her birthday after a roller-skating outing.
There is also a Facebook group with more than 7,500 members called 'The Auburn Walmart Pole Strikes Again.'
And in 2021, the pole even earned a spot in a local woman's obituary in 2021, which asked that in lieu of flowers, mourners of Janet Morse please 'donate to the removal of the notorious Auburn Walmart pole that has led to the needless destruction of countless vehicles.'
Since the pole began its reign of terror over local vehicles, it has assumed several different appearances, each apparently designed to guide drivers away from it.
At one point it was cloaked in a bright green neon plastic sleeve to help drivers avoid it. The sleeve was subsequently stolen and found on the side of a nearby road.
The sleeve, for a while, took trips around town and was positioned in front of a number of local businesses, helping establish the local legend of the pole, according to a short documentary a resident made about the phenomenon.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IY2maDmo8Kw
https://i.imgur.com/2td8s97.png
Jeydon-Xavier Smith, the 22-year-old former Walmart employee who created the Facebook group, told the Boston Globe that he has 'no idea' why the post is hit so often.
'I've driven in that parking lot, right by that exact pole so many times, and I've never hit it!' he said.
He felt, however, that having a place where people could come to discuss the strange activity surrounding the pole may be something his community needed.
He launched the group in jest in October. By January it had more than 2,000 followers, and that number has more than tripled since.
Chief Moen said that, though no serious injuries have been caused by the pole, 'We've had cars roll on their side after hitting the pole, somehow one car ended up on top of the pole (we could never figure out how that one actually happened).'
He also said that there are actually two poles in the parking lot, equally poorly placed, that are victimizing local vehicles.
https://i.imgur.com/9apuTSx.png
https://i.imgur.com/Q3WRgco.png
https://i.imgur.com/LLVYYJd.png
The true reason that so many drivers have fallen victim to the Walmart poles is like some combination of poor placement, distracted and impatient drivers and miscalculating turns.
In order to help drivers at least try to miss the poles, they have now been painted bright yellow, surrounded by concrete barriers and had bright red-and-white lights attached.
True believing locals, however, are skeptical that the poles' new costuming will help.
'This won't change anything,' one local news anchor said earlier this month.
https://i.imgur.com/EvWPdGW.png
A simple stop sign outside of a Walmart in Auburn, Maine is terrorizing local residents who can't seem to stop crashing into it, to the extent that one woman asked for its removal in her obituary.
Local Police Chief Jason Moen said police have responded to crashes at the pole at least 130 times since 2020. The city's Fire Chief called it 'an inordinate amount of emergencies.'
It is unclear why such an astoundingly high number of people have managed to hit the bright yellow pole, but it lives in infamy in its community, and beyond, thanks to social media.
https://i.imgur.com/TwOMRqO.png
A multitude of media outlets have covered the magnetic power that the pole seems to have on local cars.
The sign has, in fact, become so well known that people drive to the sign, hopefully avoiding it, to see it in person and take selfies with it.
A 9-year-old girl went viral after asking her mother to take her to the pole for her birthday after a roller-skating outing.
There is also a Facebook group with more than 7,500 members called 'The Auburn Walmart Pole Strikes Again.'
And in 2021, the pole even earned a spot in a local woman's obituary in 2021, which asked that in lieu of flowers, mourners of Janet Morse please 'donate to the removal of the notorious Auburn Walmart pole that has led to the needless destruction of countless vehicles.'
Since the pole began its reign of terror over local vehicles, it has assumed several different appearances, each apparently designed to guide drivers away from it.
At one point it was cloaked in a bright green neon plastic sleeve to help drivers avoid it. The sleeve was subsequently stolen and found on the side of a nearby road.
The sleeve, for a while, took trips around town and was positioned in front of a number of local businesses, helping establish the local legend of the pole, according to a short documentary a resident made about the phenomenon.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IY2maDmo8Kw
https://i.imgur.com/2td8s97.png
Jeydon-Xavier Smith, the 22-year-old former Walmart employee who created the Facebook group, told the Boston Globe that he has 'no idea' why the post is hit so often.
'I've driven in that parking lot, right by that exact pole so many times, and I've never hit it!' he said.
He felt, however, that having a place where people could come to discuss the strange activity surrounding the pole may be something his community needed.
He launched the group in jest in October. By January it had more than 2,000 followers, and that number has more than tripled since.
Chief Moen said that, though no serious injuries have been caused by the pole, 'We've had cars roll on their side after hitting the pole, somehow one car ended up on top of the pole (we could never figure out how that one actually happened).'
He also said that there are actually two poles in the parking lot, equally poorly placed, that are victimizing local vehicles.
https://i.imgur.com/9apuTSx.png
https://i.imgur.com/Q3WRgco.png
https://i.imgur.com/LLVYYJd.png
The true reason that so many drivers have fallen victim to the Walmart poles is like some combination of poor placement, distracted and impatient drivers and miscalculating turns.
In order to help drivers at least try to miss the poles, they have now been painted bright yellow, surrounded by concrete barriers and had bright red-and-white lights attached.
True believing locals, however, are skeptical that the poles' new costuming will help.
'This won't change anything,' one local news anchor said earlier this month.