There is something that seemingly every English speaking tourist snickers about when visiting Hong Kong – the “Litter cum Recyclable Collection Bins” found on every street corner.
In this case “cum” is the archaic Latin word which means “combined with” – not the double entendre.
In 2014 the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department received complaints about the “unpleasant meaning”, so commenced a program to cover over the offending word.
But in the years since many of the stickers have been peeled off.
But that isn’t all
Tung Chung has a “Fire Station cum Ambulance Depot”.
The Hong Kong Society for the Blind runs a ‘Factory cum Sheltered Workshop’.
But the one that really takes the cake is the ‘Public Toilet Cum Bathhouse’ I found on Cheung Chau.
Further reading
Mary Hui covers this topic in great detail in a piece titled ‘Hong Kong has a cum problem‘ at The Outline.
