Who's Cool? Apparently Not You

NEW YORK, April 11, 2010 — -- Something funny is happening on America's streets.

Perhaps you've seen them: street signs that look official but on closer inspection contain messages both amusing and absurd.

Hundreds of them have been posted, from New York and Miami to San Francisco and San Diego.

They're the work of a group of mysterious artists and pranksters operating under the name TrustoCorp. Mysterious, because no one knows who they are and they want to keep it that way, communicating only by e-mail -- and, of course, their signs.

Like the one in the trendy Williamsburg section of Brooklyn, N.Y., that proclaims, "You are not cool."

Or their "Turn Your Life Around" sign, posted in areas of heavy traffic.

Another sign, declaring "Fat Zone ... Dieting Is Un-American," has been put up outside of fast food restaurants.

In an e-mail responding to questions from ABC News, TrustoCorp said its guerilla street art is "dedicated to highlighting the hypocrisy and hilarity of human behavior through sarcasm and satire."

"Right now our country is extremely polarized and morale seems to be low on all sides of the spectrum. We hope to crack a few smiles and hopefully make a few people think along the way. We don't intend to offend or hurt anyone's feelings."

The reaction has been "extremely positive," TrustoCorp added. The signs "make people laugh and they break up the monotony" of daily living.

While the signs often contain deeper meaning, the name TrustoCorp does not. Just what does it stand for?

"Nothing," the group says. "It is simply a cool name."

The signs typically stay up for a couple of weeks before someone, usually a city worker, spots them and takes them down.

"We are aware that the Fire Department often removes our signs. We hope they hang them up at home and enjoy them," TrustoCorp said in the e-mail.

The "DBL Xing" sign, put up outside an office building owned by one of the nation's bailed-out banks, "stayed for a good three weeks, which was surprising," TrustoCorp added.