Commuters Watch For "Sumpnspicious"

(From Reuters)

The newly coined term is part of a novel campaign by
THE WASHINGTON METROPOLITAN AREA TRANSIT AUTHORITY to make jaded customers on the city's buses and underground trains stay alert to terrorist threats -- despite a slew of false alarms and no new attacks since
September 11, 2004.

Five hundred Washington buses and about 90 subway cars now carry advertising posters with creative dictionary definitions of made-up words urging commuters to keep an eye out for danger and respect fellow travelers on the busy METRO system.

"Sumpnspicious" -- a play on the slang pronunciation of "something suspicious" -- is defined as "n. (noun) unattended package or odd, unusual behavior that is reported to a bus driver, train operator, station manager or METRO POLICE."

Other definitions include:
"PlanBdextrous" -- "adj. (adjective) able to plan an alternate route home in case METRO is inaccessible due to unforeseen circumstances."

The campaign is a far cry from the straightforward security alerts usually seen or heard in the United States, which some officials fear are being ignored by Americans bored with years of warnings. Some U.S. residents say they have been turned off by what they consider excessive security precautions.

"It's kind of tough to catch someone's attention," said METRO spokeswoman CATHY ASATO. "People are not just getting this message from us, they're getting it from the police department, from the local government, from HOMELAND SECUIRTY, so we don't know if people are still hearing it."

"Humor was just a different way of going about that,"
she said.

Scott O'Leary, thanks for the post.