the Functional Road Network. Suffolk County Council, too, adopted the use of Transport Heavy typefaces on square-ended fingers, and here distances over three miles are still given to the nearest quarter. Literary references The term "fingerpost" recently received some attention from its use in the best-selling novel, An Instance of the Fingerpost by Iain Pears. The source of the title is found in an epigraph to Part IV of the novel: a—much abbreviated—translation of Aphorism XXI from Book Two, Section XXXVI of Francis Bacon's Novum Organum Scientiarum. Republic of Ireland Before 1977, fingerposts similar to those found in the United Kingdom were the main form of signage used on roads in the Republic of Ireland. They were of similar design to their UK counterparts and included the logo of Bord Fáilte (which took over responsibility for erecting signage in the Republic of Ireland from the Automobile Association), or a harp after signage was handed over to local councils. These fingerposts were bilingual, with the Gaelic name printed, in a smaller typeface, above the standard placename. A number of these signs continue to exist on Irish regional and local roads. However, as distances on them are in miles and not kilometres (as used on modern Republic of Ireland signage), they are due to be removed. Since the adoption of signs based on the UK 1965 design in 1977, local authorities within the Republic of Ireland have erected fingerpost signage on many roads based on the Worboys Committee design and using Transport Heavy font, despite the fact that the Irish Traffic Signs Manual discourages fingerposts for all but minor routes. In the Irish language, a fingerpost is called méar eolais ("finger of information"). Continental Europe Fingerposts were also used in Continental Europe; in the Electorate of Saxony they were a precursor to the Saxon post milestones. United States More recently, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California has installed LED fingerposts which orient themselves to planets, missions, and exoplanets using data supplied by the Deep Space Network. Gallery See also Index (typography) Pillar of Salt, a unique fingerpost Road signs in Northern Ireland Road signs in the Republic of Ireland Road signs in the United Kingdom Here_(sculpture) References Further reading Ashley, P. (2002). Hard Furnishings: Street Furniture London: Everyman Publishers Plc. Department for Transport & English Heritage (2005). Traffic Advisory Leaflet 6/05 Traditional Direction Signs Wayback Machine Purkiss, J. (2005). Reclaiming our