Chuckles — Who is Ped Xing?
The first time I ever saw the Ped Xing signs prominently displayed in Manila’s streets, the first thing I thought was, ‘How stupid can you get? Why would you name several streets with the same name? Isn’t that going to be so confusing?’
Telling friends about the incident later, one of them piped up, “Oh, I thought it was some historical figure. I kept wracking my memory who this guy could be. Of course, he must have done something really big. Why else would so many streets be named after him?”
Another asserted, “Well, he’s probably Chinese, with a name like that. And we are in Manila after all. Chinatown’s just round the corner.”
One hesitantly said, “Uhm, guys… I don’t know how to tell you this, but Ped Xing is short for Pedestrian Crossing.”
That certainly cut short any more speculations regarding Ped Xing’s identity.
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Funny LMAO! I was in the same predicament about the “Ped Xing” street sign some months back.
Our driver was taking me to Binondo where I would order shirts with prints of my company’s logo (at a really cheap price). And there it was, the sign –Ped Xing. I mused to myself it must be a famous Chinese who’s famous around these parts of Manila. But I would’ve certainly heard of him in history class.
Then pronouncing the words loudly, several times, in succession, made me laugh out loud as it sounded familiar in my Mother’s dialect. Ped xing…Ped Sing…Pet..Sing…petching! In Pampanga’s native language, that meant a female genitalia! I was laughing hysterically inside the car and my driver spoke up and said “Mam, ibig sabihin po ng Ped Xing eh pedestrian crossing.”
Lawdy, that’s one for the books.
Hi Soleil,
That is such an amusing anecdote! Thanks so much for all your witty and insightful comments.
The first time I encountered Ped Xing was when I was in LA in the 90s. We were traversing by car along South Grand Ave. and saw the big sign and I thought, wow this chinese guy must’ve done something great probably heroic to be named after a US downtown street and then as we kept going his name kept on popping up. I asked my friend what’s with this guy’s name and everyone in the car laughed their hearts out, only to find out that this was short for Pedestrian Crossing! Hiyang-hiya ako!