Russians pinch Virgin Trains’ toilet humour for Winter Olympics!

Image: The image shows the Virgin Trains’ sign on the left, the EMT sign in the centre and the Winter Olympics sign  on the right.

The Virgin Trains’ creative team was surprised to see that signs developed for train toilets in the UK have been spotted at the Sochi Winter Olympics. As they say, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.

The news came to light when Zoe Gillings, Britain's No 1 Olympic Snowboard athlete tweeted: "@zoegillings: Check out this notice in the #Sochi bathrooms pic.twitter.com/bBS7sknuKQ" @VirginTrains remind you of something?

The signage first appeared in the toilets of the Virgin Trains’ fleet during 2013, along with amusing recorded messages. It was a typically Virgin initiative, adding personality and individuality to bring a smile to our customers’ faces.

It was then ‘borrowed’ by East Midlands Trains for their trains.

The original – and still the best - Virgin Trains’ sign reads: “Please don’t flush ...Nappies, sanitary towels, paper towels, gum, old phones, unpaid bills, junk mail, your ex’s sweater, hopes, dream or goldfish... down this toilet”.

It seems something has got lost in translation. The Russian apparently says: “Help toilet paper reach a basket".