Detail, Boy Getting an Inoculation Sign. US 20, Idaho Falls, Idaho

This billboard likely promoted vaccinations as part of a public health and safety campaign. Dow recalls being highly unnerved by the sign:

“When I was a little kid, I had a terminal fear of getting shots. I was petrified every time we went to see the doctor, totally convinced that he was going to load up some giant horse-sized syringe full of unidentified venom and I would suffer both extreme agony and, likely, death on the way home. Our family doctor figured out a way to deal with my terror. He would position me in a chair and lull me into defenselessness with his radio voice, then he would sneak up and deliver the killer blow which, I have to admit, I never really felt. It worked every time, and that is what I was thinking as I drove toward this sign in Idaho.”