FREAK Shots: How Effective Is Your Cardboard Sign?

When people use cardboard signs to ask for money, their success depends on a number of factors, including the sign’s explicit message, the target of its solicitation, and even whether a passing historian happens to find it worth buying. Consider the following approaches, turned up in a scan of Flickr photos.
A claim of sobriety and/or family responsibility:

Photo: Mistermuckle

Photo: yummyporky

Seeking help for meting out revenge:

Photo: The Consumerist

Offering self as a sounding board:

Photo: slava

The romantic touch:

jswieringa

And a plea to fulfill the most basic human right:

Photo: RogueSun Media