The owner of East of Chicago Pizza in Barberton, Ohio has accidentally provoked disquiet this week with an 'offensive' slogan on a billboard ad.

Earlier this week, Jeremy Clemetson, proprietor of East of Chicago Pizza in Barberton, Ohio, posted an image of a sign advertising his pizzeria place, which featured the caption: "Fat people are harder to kidnap."

Although Clemetson has reportedly used the caption - as well as other irreverent slogans - before with no prior issues, he neglected to realize than January was Human Trafficking Awareness Month, and the post was badly received by some social media users.

Take a look at this news report on the controversy: 

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In a later follow-up post, the owner shared a Fox News 8 segment on the sign, and wrote on Facebook: "We just set out to be funny but this billboard went national. It must [have] been a slow news day. Let me know your thoughts. I appreciate your business and never set out for this to be offensive to anyone."

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In a later interview with Fox News on the subject of his controversial slogan, Clemetson stated: "I thought it would be a good idea to put up some funny signs. Most people seem to like them. I scour the internet for different signs that people have had. Sometimes I use them. Sometimes I reinvent my own. I also have got some of my funny signs from customers."

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He added: "I never even thought about it in that way, and as soon as I thought it, because kidnapping is not a joke, we are taking it down... I have seven kids of my own. I'm from the community here. I've lived here pretty much all of my life. I live in Barberton. I have strong roots here. I never even thought about it as the kidnapping aspect. I just meant it to be funny."

Finding a place for gainful employment can be a nightmare at the absolute best of times, but it can be a nightmare if you have special needs. According to 2017 statistics from the Bureau of Labour Statistics, as little as 18.7 percent of people living with a disability are in employment (compared to 65.7 percent for those without a disability).

Although things are getting better (that employment number is up from the previous year), there have been some teething problems with getting more special needs workers employed, and sadly, not everyone is happy to have them there. But one restaurant owner has won the heart of the internet after putting up a sign relating to one of her special needs employees.

Amanda Cartagine owns a restaurant called Pizza Inn, out in Greenville, South Carolina. At Pizza Inn, Cartagine reveals that more than half the kitchen staff have special needs, and that the entire workforce does whatever they can to help everyone feel welcome at the restaurant, regardless of their limitations.

"Out of my 16 crew members, kitchen crew members, 10 of them [have] special needs. And I'm proud of that. I'm proud of the crew and the work they do. They do an amazing job."

"If you have the patience to let them take their time and learn at their pace, when the light bulb comes on, they are unstoppable," Cartagine explained. But when a customer had a less-than-optimal interaction with one of her employees with special needs, Cartagine felt the need to put up a sign to settle the issue once and for all.

A customer at Pizza Inn had a bone to pick with management staff after asking a worker with autism to refill a lettuce bowl - a task which the employee hadn't been trained to carry out. The upset customer complained to management about the service, as Cartagine revealed.

"My manager explained to him the situation privately, 'That's not his job. We've trained him to do this and there are special circumstances,' and the customer was still not happy," she recalled, and said the customer then asked if Pizza Inn would put up a sign explaining the situation at the restaurant. Cartagine had to think about it.

"These are like my kids, and it made me angry. I wanted to do something that was not rude, but got my point across," she said, but after some careful thought and consideration, she came up with something which she's pretty happy with, all things considered.

"We are proud to be an equal opportunity employer and hire all of God's children," says the sign (as you can see above), and Angie Mosely, who has a son with Down's Syndrome employed at this Pizza Inn, is just one of the people hailing Amanda Cartagine and her restaurant's amazing work.

"We parents with special needs [children] are always faced with breaking down barriers, stigmas, teaching other people that our children are more like them, than different... He [Mosely's son] loved the first paycheck. He loved the fact that he has money in the bank and he can actually go buy his favorite video game."

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Unsurprisingly, Cartagine's actions that day have gone down well online, and restaurant owner says that in the future, people realise that people with special needs are "a unique group that everyone should tap into, because they will bless you more than you will ever know". As for the customer who made the complaint? "If he is not OK with that, then I'm OK with him not coming back," says Cartagine.

"That's a dollar that I don't need."

Businesses often use signs as a way of drawing customers in. But what happens when signs don't always have the desired effect? I mean, what about the spelling errors or the badly placed signs? What happens then? Well, back in the old days it just meant that a business owner would end up suffering from a lack of patronage. In our modern times, it means that a business owner with an unfortunate sign fail will most likely end up seeing it trending on social media.

[post_page_title]#1 Sign Me Up[/post_page_title]

A work-free drug place. That sounds like a lovely sign to post outside a crack den. Unfortunately, it's a place of business, and if the employer is looking for employees, they might want to rethink the phrasing.

I can't imagine that the person who was creating the sign was too far off the mark in terms of what they were tripping on. A work-free drug place sounds like somewhere 20-year-old me would have loved to "work" at...yeah, I partied a little too hard in my youth.

[post_page_title]#2 Murder Tips[/post_page_title]

If ever a sociopath was looking for a green-light to get out of their marriage, I'm pretty sure this sign just gave it to them. Not just that, but I'm pretty sure this sign just told them how to do it too!

I don't know about you, but if I saw this sign I would be calling 911 immediately. And the worst part is, it's so cheery too.
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[post_page_title]#Jesus was a Scary Guy Apparently[/post_page_title]

Can I just say, this one made me laugh out loud a little because I just imagine someone out on a lake trying to enjoy some peace and quiet while fishing, then Jesus sneaks up behind them (since he can walk on water and all) and goes "boo!" I mean, if I were Jesus and could walk on water, I'd be trolling people like that too.

I can definitely see the well-intended meaning behind this sign, but it certainly won't be drawing in any new members to the congregation any time soon. In fact, it may even drive some already pre-existing members away.
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[post_page_title]#4 This Unfortunate Sign[/post_page_title]

Clearly, whoever created this sign skipped their morning coffee. But for the rest of us, they gave us something to laugh at. Normally, I don't really like social media, but it's at times like this that I'm so grateful for it, or else we'd never get to see funny signage fails like this one.

I'm pretty sure this is the type of thing you can get sued for nowadays. Nevertheless, it never fails to make us giggle.
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[post_page_title]#5 People Eating Children[/post_page_title]

Several things are wrong with this sign. Besides the obvious encouragement of child cannibalism, there are several things wrong with the font...or should I say fonts.

There are too many font changes that the whole thing just looks unprofessional. But that whole "people eating children" part really takes the cake and makes the entire sign a fail. At least they got the bit about the dogs on leashes right.
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[post_page_title]#6 Good Life Motto[/post_page_title]

Definitely not the most alarming of some of the signage fails, but nevertheless funny. Weirdly enough, it also makes for a great life motto. If you can't, don't.

Plus, at least the company is honest about it. That is something you always want to look for in a business, right?
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[post_page_title]#7 Makes Sense[/post_page_title]

Now it makes sense why those bathrooms are always free. The rest of us are screwed though.

This sign is a great example of how important grammar and punctuation are when it comes to signs.
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[post_page_title]#8 Should We Follow This Advice?[/post_page_title]

If anxiety could talk, it would be shouting this from the rooftops. This sweater clearly has good intentions, however, the execution of it has gone hideously wrong.

Definitely not the type of advice we'd be recommending you to follow. Nor is it a sweater we'd be wanting to wear out any time soon. The font style is cute though.
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[post_page_title]#9 Be Open to New Experiences[/post_page_title]

Experience anal. For most of us that is a no thank you. But whatever floats your boat I guess. And this unfortunately placed signage seems to be encouraging experimentation.

Guess times have changed and signs are bolder? Is that it?
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[post_page_title]#10 Me After a Long Day[/post_page_title]

This sign is so funny because, on some level, I think it speaks to us all. Particularly after a very long day at work. I am not ashamed to admit that sometimes I'm a baby who needs my wine.

As one clever user wrote, "Nobody puts baby in a corner without a beverage." Same, dude, same!
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[post_page_title]#11 Practice Makes Perfect?[/post_page_title]

While I would agree that practice makes perfect, and you should definitely get into a routine of practicing what you want to master...I don't think this one really is a good idea. And it's certainly not legal.

Thankfully, I can't see anyone following this Habitat for Humanity's van's message unless they're a serial killer.
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[post_page_title]#12 Heaven's Gate Would be Jealous[/post_page_title]

Can't say that sign was well-though-out at all. It sounds like the kind of event that would be serving loads of killer Kool-Aid. Ok, ok, I know, that was a terrible pun.

But you can see my point. Without proper explanation, all you can think about is a group of people coming together to off themselves, rather than to discuss suicide prevention and proper mental health care. As a former English major, I can't state how important proper grammar and punctuation are. Rant over.
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[post_page_title]#13 Who Else Wants to End Children?[/post_page_title]

Based on this sign, you would assume that the sign maker has a deep loathing for kids. Thankfully, for children everywhere, it is just a very badly placed font error. Phew! For a second I was thinking that The Hunger Games was going to be a real-life thing.

However, I'd imagine that this is probably how all pro-lifers view Planned Parenthood. Yeah, I joked about it. Sorry, not sorry.
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[post_page_title]#14 Don't Do It![/post_page_title]

No about of different font coloring can make up for the horrible placement of these two chunks of text. While the sign meant to say, "Don't be afraid to save a life. Give Blood." All we see is "Don't save a life. Be afraid to give blood.

I can't help but giggle because it's so badly executed. For anyone who has any sort of needle fear, this is all they need to be afraid to give blood at their local blood bank.
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[post_page_title]#15 To Push or Not to Push[/post_page_title]

For anyone who suffers from anxiety, this one might not be the funniest sign to look at. In fact, it might be the most real thing ever. I mean, this sign is definitely confusing to the point that I think anyone would get flustered coming across it.

Plus, it certainly doesn't help that the very confusing message is on a bright blue background which then clashes with the bright orange pole. It's definitely giving off mixed messages that would give anyone anxiety.
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[post_page_title]#16 This Innuendo[/post_page_title]

Sometimes people can't help it. That is the first thought that crossed my mind - then I realized that they meant to include the words "work" and "play" into the statement. The design of this may have started off as an attempt at motivation, it just came off sounding like an innuendo.

This is the kind of message that I would expect to read in a doctor's office or on the side of medication for some kind of erectile dysfunction. It's even the kind of thing that you might find inside a sex ed health class textbook.
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[post_page_title]#17 Pets Can't Cook Here[/post_page_title]

Sorry guys, I've got some bad news. If your dog enjoys cooking bicycles for dinner, they're not going to be able to do that here. Oh wait, you have no idea why I sound like I'm insane? That is because of the sign.

This is the perfect example of why grammar and punctuation are so important. It will make the difference between you specifying that pets, looking, and bikes aren't allowed in the same area - or sounding like a crazy person talking about pets cooking bikes.
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[post_page_title]#18 Animal Cruelty[/post_page_title]

Imagine being on the street when you walk past a person wearing a hoodie that said on the back, "Animal Cruelty Club." You'd probably think that person was some kind of scumbag. You might even want to tell them so.

But then you notice that their hood goes up and underneath it says, "anti." Placement of words on a hoodie is everything. Clearly, this was designed by a novice who didn't realize their design was inadvertently supporting something really awful.
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[post_page_title]#19 Now that's Saving the Planet[/post_page_title]

If this is where the future of environmental awareness is headed then I don't want to be a part of it. While the sign might mean to say, "Don't Leave Litter Here, Take It Home" that is certainly not what we got from the placement of the sign, nor the punctuation.

I can't stress proper punctuation enough when it comes to signs and public messages enough. There is no other way to get around it. Especially for a sign so important that relates to recycling and proper disposal of garbage. Now is not the time for environmentalists to forget about proper grammar usage.
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[post_page_title]#20 Just Bought Some Reduced Quality Chicken[/post_page_title]

I can't say that my bowels would survive a brush with reduced quality chicken, but sure let's have a go, right? No one in their right mind would say that unless they deliberately wanted to get out of some commitment so bad they had to actually induce food poisoning.

This, fortunately, is just a poorly-placed sticker to imply that the price is reduced, not the quality. But then again, why risk it?
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[post_page_title]#21 Accidents in Cars[/post_page_title]

When I was a kid I once threw up all over my mom's brand new minivan after I downed a giant red slushy from the gas station too fast. Since then, I've not had any accidents in cars, and no, I would not know which one to do.

This sign is a complete design fail, but man, does it make us giggle. I'm glad that I didn't come up with the badly placed design. That must be an embarrassing unveiling in the conference room when you show something that suggests adults should have one of several accidents in their cars.
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[post_page_title]#22 Trump's Kind of Sign[/post_page_title]

"Smash Immigrants Welcome Racism." If there was ever a more appropriately-worded sign for the situation in America right now, I don't know what it would be. While clearly this sign means to do the opposite of the message it conveys, its poorly thought out design makes it sound very alt-right.

Without proper punctuation or placement of the words, this sign reads like some kind of homemade cardboard sign you'd see an old white man holding up at a Trump rally while the orange Cheeto prattles on about bad hombres and other xenophobic garbage.
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[post_page_title]#23 Opposite Turns[/post_page_title]

This sign is a little confusing. Actually, it's more than a little confusing. If I were reading this from a car while on the road driving, I would get so confused. While it means to say there is on right turn and you can only go left, the way it is written makes a driver think the opposite.

I can only imagine the carnage that the poorly-designed sign caused during the time that it was out on the road. Construction workers that day must have been having all kinds of disasters with people attempting to turn right thinking that there was no left option.
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[post_page_title]#24 Die[/post_page_title]

Die. It's the first thing that pops out at you from the window. And I can't say that it's necessarily what you want to be seeing, especially if you're feeling blue in any way.

This sign definitely takes you a minute to realize that it's two windows full of advertising, and that "Die" is actually part of the greater message, "Diesel." Oops! Hope they realized their mistake soon.
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[post_page_title]#25 Wall Art[/post_page_title]

They say art is subjective. Could this be what they were trying to go for with this wall art? Because the mismatched message is definitely subjective, you can't really be sure what it is implying.

It reminds me of a drunk text message that you'd send to someone you're having an argument with at like 2 am after you're smashed on Pinot Grigio. Anyone else get that from this wall piece?
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[post_page_title]#26 Attention Students[/post_page_title]

Honestly, that's all I really got from this was "attention students." From there it was pretty much downhill trying to read and decipher what exactly the sign was trying to convey.

I assume it has something to do with not being allowed to take trollies in order to help them move their stuff, but with the horrible design scheme, who can be sure? Either way, it's so bad it's kind of funny.
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[post_page_title]#27 The NAACP Won't Be Impressed[/post_page_title]

At first, this sign isn't that bad looking because it's not immediately obvious what the issue with the message is. You're more distracted by the food. But then when you read the title, you cringe at how inadvertently racist it was made to be.

I can definitely see a lawsuit or two getting filed after an advertising release like that. Plus, a black bean smoothie? That sounds god awful.
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[post_page_title]#28 Danger Rocks[/post_page_title]

Has anyone heard of these new species called danger rocks? Apparently, they stay submerged until suddenly they get you. Do I sound like I'm talking like a weirdo again? Blame the sign.

This is what happens when you don't correctly place words where they make sense - you end up inventing a whole new alien species of rock. Submerged danger rocks. It sounds like something straight out of a B horror film.
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[post_page_title]#29 Workout Advice from Yoda[/post_page_title]

"Hit yourself you will three months from now," that sounds exactly like the advice you'd get from Yoda in a gym. The poorly designed stairs do nothing to add motivation, but instead, make us want to go home and marathon Star Wars.

At least any sci-fi nerds working out at the gym will gain a good laugh from the stairs. Hell, I would probably go sign up to work out at that particular gym only because of its badly conveyed Jedi message.
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[post_page_title]#30 Vicious...Incest?[/post_page_title]

This one, in my opinion, takes the cake in terms of bad designs. Whoever sketched out the design did not predict how hideously, hideously wrong it would go.

Vicious incest - not exactly the thing that you want to be driving around with on the back of your pick up truck. It's like something some twisted serial killer would be happy to advertise.

A New York pizza restaurant has been praised for the way it dealt with a heartbreaking request from a customer, after their kindness was shared online.

The customer shared the moment on Reddit, writing in the 'Made Me Smile' subreddit: "I had a crappy birthday but my local pizza place had my back."

They attached a photo of their order receipt, on which they'd added a note saying: "It's my birthday and not even my family called me.

"I'm sad and I really like olives. Please put on as many black olives as you can. I want you to put on so many black olives that you start to question mine and your own sanity. As much as you can include without being fired. Thank you."

They made a specific request when ordering a pizza. Credit: Aleksandr Zubkov/Getty Images

The user then shared a photo of the order they received from Norbert's in Brooklyn, showing the pizza absolutely smothered in a biblical amount of black olives.

As well as the ones on the pizza, the restaurant also appeared to add a few extras in a pot alongside the order.

They also drew a picture of a birthday cake on the inside of the box along with the words "Happy Birthday" and "Feliz Cumpleanos".

The simple but meaningful gesture struck a chord with many Reddit users who soon flooded the comments.

They wrote: "Glad you got your birthday olives, OP [original poster]. Hope they tasted delicious.

"Those olives are proof that, even when it feels like nobody cares, there are people out there who do, even if they don't know you yet. When it gets hard to remember that, remember the olives."

Others added: "Even if your family doesn't care enough to call I know you deserve this kindness. Caring about sentient life goes a long way in my book. Keep it up!," and: "and you can tell this pie was actually made with love. Worth the $30 imo."

One joked: "Do you think maybe your family doesn't talk to because of your olive addiction? It's time to go to rehab bud. Happy birthday ya fiend," while another added: "Hope you had a happy birthday, but that pizza looks vile."

While the number of olives on this pizza is definitely a divisive choice (each to their own), one thing everyone can agree on is how much of a difference a simple act of kindness can make to a person having a bad day.

Another former pizza shop worker added in the comments: "I've worked a ton of pizza jobs, and this is the kind of s**t I lived for.

"It's easy to get lost in the monotony, but getting an opportunity to cheer up a stranger was always a joy. Plus, it's fun to be a little creative with box art.

"I remember every single instance of people asking for weird custom stuff like this. Just wanted you to know you made their night as well. Happy birthday!"

Featured image credit: Aleksandr Zubkov/Getty Images

Everyone needs a little pick-me-up every now and then.

Whether you're just having a bad day, or feel in need of a laugh to raise your spirits, we all need to lean on the kindness of others at times to help us feel more positive.

And one Domino's customer recently found themselves in exactly this position. A Reddit user revealed that they had placed an order with the pizza restaurant and asked for a joke to go along with their food.

Instead, they received a "wholesome" note from a Domino's employee that served to put a smile on many people's faces after the post was circulated online.

“I had a bad day and asked Domino’s for a joke. I got the most wholesome note instead.” The Reddit post reads.

The message left on the inside lid of the pizza box reads, "Hi Ashley, I really suck at jokes, but, I wish you have an awesome rest of the day. [Good] night, enjoy the pizza made for you with all the love in the world."

And Reddit users took to the thread to weigh in on the message.

"I asked them to draw me a dinosaur once. They did. Made my day. :)" one commenter wrote.

Another added, "I don't know why, but having a stranger genuinely wish you having an awesome day is a great feeling."

However, not everyone was so convinced. A third commenter wrote, "That sneaky dominos guerilla marketing."

Another Reddit user added, "That’s a nice note, but there’s a thing called the internet and Google where you can instantly access a number of jokes to write"

Meanwhile, if you're now experiencing quite full on cravings for a pizza like I am, then you'll doubtless be interested to learn that Aldi has a stainless steel pizza oven for sale.

The pizza oven's product description reads: "Bring out your inner chef this summer and prepare for some seriously tasty pizza with the help of this Large Stainless Steel Pizza Oven.

Perfect for creating delicious wood-fired pizza from the comfort of your own home, this sturdy oven features an underframe with shelf and 4 wheels, making it convenient and easy to use. "