What’s with the Inglis sign off the Gardiner? The other day it flashed me with an odd, all-capitalized message: THE GREATEST REMEDY FOR ANGER IS DELAY. Who comes up with these slogans?—Mark Symington, Mississauga
Founded in 1859, the appliance manufacturer John Inglis and Sons built a plant on Strachan Avenue, near the Ex, in 1881. Today, the only reminder of the downtown factory, which once employed 17,000, is the billboard, erected in 1975 and intended to cheer up passing drivers. (One suspects that chestnuts like the future holds great promise for those who have faith in it may have bemused as many drivers as they’ve inspired.) Technicians used to update the sign manually, selecting quotations from writers and philosophers. To-day, changes are automatically zapped over from the company’s Mississauga head office. Wags in the marketing department write the slogan du jour.
I started working in downtown Toronto in 1972. The Inglis board has been a part of my daily life since it was erected in 1975. On of my favourite and certainly most memorable quotes was: “Double your pleasure – photocopy your paycheque”.
Funny, the things we remember…
March 18, 2010 at 11:02 am | by Judith