Originally Posted by
Tashengurt
I do remember a time when you couldn't go anywhere in the UK (and probably further) without seeing a dayglo train stuck on roadsigns, pub bars and even the odd chimney.
They were the handiwork of TTTE ('Thomas the Tank Engine') at Cottesmore. It was also possible until about 2010 to navigate from Brize to Marham by following the direction marked by a dayglo bull's head.
Other odd places I've seen squadron zaps include the tops of ski-lift pylons in France (presumably applied from the end of an outstretched ski pole) long before winter sports stickers became a 'thing', high on nightclub ceilings (thrown up on the back of a wallet?) and the roof of air show party tents (by skilled climbers of marquee poles). And there used to be an occasional sighting of an 'Advisory for Aircrew' or 'Advisory for Fast Jet Aircrew' sticker, in yellow and black with hatched edges to look like an emergency notice. My favourite instance of the latter was next to a 'Now wash your hands' notice in the gents' at RAF Valley Officer's Mess!
As with many other traditions of the 60s to 90s, zapping things other than aircraft seems to have died away over the last decade or so. The only exception I can think of is The Eagle pub in Cambridge, which has a rather more smartly applied collection, mainly USAF but also some civilian (e.g. Boeing test) and RAF, including the II(AC) Sqn 'Second to None' zap. In other places this one often used to be seen pen-amended to 'Second to One' or more rarely 'Second to Nine'...