Of Copenhagen: Neon

If you, like me, used to watch the Simpsons back the olden days, when the shows had plots and such some 15 years ago, you may remember an occasional gag where many of the obscure shops in Springfield had neon signs that blinked on and off in a way that made the neon a sort of animation. Well, to your correspondent's surprise and delight, Copenhagen has a couple of these. There are actually a lot of neat neon signs there - I think more than your average city, but maybe they're just better, so they stand out more. Above was as sign that looks like it's for spark plugs but was actually for a diner or something.


This one is an ad for Ga-Jol pills, whatever those are. Ga-Jol also apparently comes in alcohol form, and was spotted behind the bar next to the aquavit in at least one Danish pub. Anyway, this sign gave the impression that pills were flying out of the giant box of Ga-Jols and into the mouth of the wigged-out dude with the umbrella. I guess he was supposed to be sick or something, but the whole trippy motif made it look more like he was getting high and dangerously close to OD'ing on Ga-Jols.


Last, and almost certainly the champion was this sign for Antonius, whatever that is. In the little cartoon created by the neon, a pig is standing there, an angel flies down and lands before him. The pig runs over to the angel, who feeds him what look like they are maybe radishes. Then the billboard says "ANTONIUS." Repeat, infinitely. So the question to any visitor unfamiliar with the brand is obviously - what in the sam hill is Antonius selling? Radishes? A kennel for pigs? Google is not helpful. Maybe it's just a big piece of installation art.