Nothing Doing | alt.hn

8/21/2026 at 4:45:20 PM

I need this for some past companies I've worked at.

by swader999

8/21/2026 at 3:36:37 PM

1897 seems like an important year.

by rzzzt

8/21/2026 at 3:09:45 PM

The Futility Closet website (and, formerly, podcast) is an amazing treasure trove of fascinating facts.

by TRiG_Ireland

8/21/2026 at 2:53:02 PM

Funny, does anyone know the history of any of the markers? I'm just curious why this is global thing really.

by tolugenius

8/21/2026 at 3:03:22 PM

The one from Míšov, Czech Republic is tribute to the running joke of nonexistent genius Jara Cimmrman

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J%C3%A1ra_Cimrman

by LahvacCz

8/21/2026 at 4:34:47 PM

The bust (if you even can call it that...) pictured in the article is terrifying!

by cryzinger

8/21/2026 at 4:16:46 PM

The plaque is identical in two of the photos (one from Ireland, one from Luxembourg), and the wording is identical in those two plus a third (from Western Australia). That makes me curious.

by Photogrammaton

8/21/2026 at 4:50:22 PM

Was it in a Monty python sketch or something?

by clickety_clack

8/21/2026 at 2:56:41 PM

You don't think this is just a joke that multiple people thought of independently?

Some of them might be in reaction to a local event, or even a worldwide event that had no local impact. But I think they're mostly just jokes.

by wccrawford

8/21/2026 at 3:00:55 PM

My great grandmother taught me that “nothing doing” meant something similar to “there’s nothing for it”.

by bckr

8/21/2026 at 3:24:12 PM

I’m in my late thirties and it was still in common use in India, and perhaps specifically among Anglo Indians? But it meant more like “no chance”.

“Can I go out to the movies with my friends?”

“Nothing doing! You have an exam tomorrow”

Or failure to do something.

“I tried to fix it myself but nothing doing”.

by arjie

8/21/2026 at 3:56:40 PM

Looney Toons / Merry Melodies also bear out this connotation quite well

by HappMacDonald