I went to grade school in Plattsburgh in the 1970s and early 1980s. On many afternoons I walked past a mural painted on a building opposite the Strand Theatre that said something like, “Smile at the next five people you see.” I don’t recall whether the mural had been painted to promote an organization or simply to remind passersby how easy it is to make someone else’s day a little better. What I do recall is how easy it is to make yous own day a little better by smiling at others. Trite, you say? Perhaps. But true.

I recently stumbled across “25 Brilliant and Pointless Street Flyers” and it occurred to me that by and large the same is true for these flyers. There are a couple of exceptions, but many of these unnecessary street flyers actually serve a similar purpose to “Smile! mural” in downtown Plattsburgh.

Although sometimes flyering your neighborhood can be an effective way to find Pookie or apologize to your girlfriend, it’s also evidently one of the best ways to troll. While not a single poster on this list of 25 brilliant and pointless street flyers has a legitimate reason for existing, they are certainly amusing… and maybe that’s reason enough. (List25)

I almost always stop in front of the Essex bulletin board to see what’s been posted recently. I’m a flâneur by nature. Minutes often flutter past as I study layers upon layers of weathered notices and photos and business cards, sometimes even lost and found items like a barret or a feather. There’s something fascinating about the bulletin board. A snapshot into our collective unconscious. No, not that. But something akin to that, and I find a certain satisfaction in absorbing the collage.

And yet, I haven’t yet seen a street flyer for free love… Perhaps soon?

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