http://twitpic.com/1a96f6

Spotted this on the way to college today.

333
4444
55555
666666

and so on, surprised you didn’t know that erik.

The 3s on the bottom are clearly flipped vertically and are not modified 8s. To my eye, the 3s oriented correctly look like they are symmetric; however, if you were to flip them vertically (e.g. in Photoshop; I did) they’d obviously be upside down, and they’d look exactly like the 3s on the bottom. So a casual observer might think at first glance that the 3s actually are symmetric.

Many people probably think the figure 3 really is symmetric about a horizontal axis. Such figures probably are, at least the way we learn them in American schools. (I’m from California too.)

At normal reading distances, such as the vantage point of the photograph, the asymmetry is apparent. From the viewpoint of someone handling the actual figures, an unnaturally close reading distance, it might not be apparent.

There might also be a mechanical explanation. The upper two prices could have been installed while the person was standing up. The bottommost price could have required the installer to bend over, which might have affected the motion he used in pulling letters out of the box (or whatever they were stored in) resulting in the figures being installed incorrectly.

But even if the gas station owner realized the error, or it was pointed out to him, he probably doesn’t care. After all, this is of concern only to type geeks, and gas prices are going to change again next week anyway.