# I need help identifying this logo or symbol please **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 7, 2016, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-help-identifying-this-logo-or-symbol-please/751410 "2016-04-07T03:42:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![dnooman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/839c29/32.png) [@dnooman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dnooman)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2016, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-help-identifying-this-logo-or-symbol-please/751410/1 "2016-04-07T03:42:38Z")
I’m not sure what this symbol is and it’s hard for me to describe. I couldn’t draw it in paint very well at all, but I made an approximation. [This](http://imgur.com/IkjPbHD)image is kinda close but instead of two “arms” there are three equally spaced. I have no idea why but it reminds me of a bike part or something from the 90’s. Anyone know what this is? I saw it on a bumper sticker if that helps. ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2016, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-help-identifying-this-logo-or-symbol-please/751410/2 "2016-04-07T03:44:24Z")
Was it a triskelion? That’s the symbol of the isle of Man, among other things. > **[Triskelion](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triskelion)** > > A triskelion or triskeles is an ancient motif consisting of a triple spiral exhibiting rotational symmetry or other patterns in triplicate that emanate from a common center. > The spiral design can be based on interlocking Archimedean spirals, or represent three bent human legs. It is found in artefacts of the European Neolithic and Bronze Age with continuation into the Iron Age especially in the context of the La Tène culture\[citation needed\] and related Celtic traditions. > The actual triskeles ... ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2016, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-help-identifying-this-logo-or-symbol-please/751410/3 "2016-04-07T03:45:59Z")
With 3 arms it would like a [45rpm record adapter insert](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/45_rpm_adapter#/media/File:45rpmadapter.jpg). ---
**Author:** ![Enginerd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/bcef8e/32.png) [@Enginerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enginerd)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2016, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-help-identifying-this-logo-or-symbol-please/751410/4 "2016-04-07T03:48:46Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > With 3 arms it would like a [45rpm record adapter insert](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/45_rpm_adapter#/media/File:45rpmadapter.jpg). Seconded - that’s the first thing I thought of too. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2016, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-help-identifying-this-logo-or-symbol-please/751410/5 "2016-04-07T03:49:54Z")
Perhaps they’re [Klingons.](https://www.pinterest.com/pin/51158145738545574/) Sorry, I can’t see the imgur site due to the prudery sensors at work. Also, the Wisconsin Department of Transportation uses the same three-armed curvy thing. Coincidence? I think not. ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_T](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Gary\_T](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_T)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2016, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-help-identifying-this-logo-or-symbol-please/751410/6 "2016-04-07T03:53:14Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > With 3 arms it would like a [45rpm record adapter insert](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/45_rpm_adapter#/media/File:45rpmadapter.jpg). > [@Enginerd](#): > > Seconded - that’s the first thing I thought of too. Same here. ---
**Author:** ![Dale\_Sams](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/779978/32.png) [@Dale\_Sams](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dale_Sams)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2016, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-help-identifying-this-logo-or-symbol-please/751410/7 "2016-04-07T03:59:40Z")
Zardoz? ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2016, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-help-identifying-this-logo-or-symbol-please/751410/8 "2016-04-07T04:02:12Z")
> [@Enginerd](#): > > Seconded - that’s the first thing I thought of too. Thirded. There was a similar pinwheel patch used in the US Army Air Force during WWII. [http://www.saundersinsignia.com/images/products/detail/detail\_416L.jpg](http://www.saundersinsignia.com/images/products/detail/detail_416L.jpg) The triskelion is also used by some neo-Nazi groups as a truncated swastika: [http://www.alternatehistory.com/discussion/attachment.php?attachmentid=107962&stc=1&d=1280022294](http://www.alternatehistory.com/discussion/attachment.php?attachmentid=107962&stc=1&d=1280022294) A quick search for “bicycle brand logos” doesn’t turn up any triskelion-type figures that I can see. As an aside, there’s a commercial for some retirement program that goes “If you’re over fifty, you probably recognize these…” One of the things they show is a neon-green 45-rpm record adapter. I asked my daughter (age 20 at the time) if she knew what it was. She said, “Some kind of symbol?” ---
**Author:** ![dnooman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/839c29/32.png) [@dnooman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dnooman)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2016, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-help-identifying-this-logo-or-symbol-please/751410/9 "2016-04-07T04:04:11Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > With 3 arms it would like a [45rpm record adapter insert](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/45_rpm_adapter#/media/File:45rpmadapter.jpg). The thing I saw was slightly more minimalized but that has to be it. Muchas gracias! ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2016, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-help-identifying-this-logo-or-symbol-please/751410/10 "2016-04-07T04:06:30Z")
The triskelion, BWT, is an old heraldic charge sometimes used on coats of arms, that of Man being perhaps the best known: [https://www.google.ca/search?q=bicycle+brands+logos&biw=1366&bih=667&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&sqi=2&ved=0ahUKEwiHlt730PvLAhXhuIMKHfowAIEQ\_AUIBigB#tbm=isch&q=triskelion+arms](https://www.google.ca/search?q=bicycle+brands+logos&biw=1366&bih=667&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&sqi=2&ved=0ahUKEwiHlt730PvLAhXhuIMKHfowAIEQ_AUIBigB#tbm=isch&q=triskelion+arms) ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2016, 8:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-help-identifying-this-logo-or-symbol-please/751410/11 "2016-04-07T08:47:42Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > The triskelion is also used by some neo-Nazi groups as a truncated swastika: > > [http://www.alternatehistory.com/discussion/attachment.php?attachmentid=107962&stc=1&d=1280022294](http://www.alternatehistory.com/discussion/attachment.php?attachmentid=107962&stc=1&d=1280022294) That’s actually more precisely the official logo of the [AWB](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afrikaner_Weerstandsbeweging) (Afrikaner Resistance Movement) I hear some American groups have adopted the logo, but it’s originally the AWB’s. While Wiki characterises the AWB as Neo-Nazis, that doesn’t really fit in the South African context - more like plain old White Power, Apartheid and anti-Black. ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2016, 10:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-help-identifying-this-logo-or-symbol-please/751410/12 "2016-04-07T10:34:05Z")
> [@dnooman](#): > > > [@TriPolar](#): > > > > With 3 arms it would like a [45rpm record adapter insert](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/45_rpm_adapter#/media/File:45rpmadapter.jpg). > > The thing I saw was slightly more minimalized but that has to be it. > > Muchas gracias! Why would it be on a bumper sticker? ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2016, 10:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-help-identifying-this-logo-or-symbol-please/751410/13 "2016-04-07T10:46:24Z")
Apparently the TV show _Teen Wolf_ uses a [triskelion](https://www.google.com.au/search?safe=off&biw=1662&bih=1065&tbm=isch&sa=1&q=alpha+triskelion+teen+wolf&oq=alpha+triskelion+teen+wolf) symbol in it somewhere. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2016, 11:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-help-identifying-this-logo-or-symbol-please/751410/14 "2016-04-07T11:51:11Z")
> [@davidm](#): > > Why would it be on a bumper sticker? If you looked really close, was it actually the cover of a Black Crowes Album? > **[Three Snakes and One Charm](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three_Snakes_and_One_Charm#/media/File:The_Black_Crowes_-_Three_Snakes_and_One_Charm.jpg)** > > Three Snakes and One Charm is the fourth studio album by American rock band The Black Crowes. It was released on July 23, 1996. > During the "Amorica or Bust" tour of 1995, many of the relationships within The Black Crowes had soured, including that of brothers Chris and Rich Robinson. "We just fucking hated each other," Rich noted in the September 1996 issue of Acoustic Guitar magazine. "It's just a normal phase bands go through. There was a lot of emotional baggage, and everyone got on each othe... That picture is common enough that people associate it with the band. If you were in Wisconsin it’s the logo for a particular style of a certain brand’s beer (longshot, I know). Neither of those? Someone (hipsters!) just thought it was a cool picture, but I’m going with the Black Crowes thing. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2016, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-help-identifying-this-logo-or-symbol-please/751410/15 "2016-04-07T13:49:04Z")
I’ve seen the 45 adapter used graphically as a nostalgia symbol, especially among vinyl enthusiasts. I wouldn’t be surprised to see it on a bumper sticker, given how easy it is to have short-run graphics made online today. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2016, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-help-identifying-this-logo-or-symbol-please/751410/16 "2016-04-07T13:51:06Z")
> [@dnooman](#): > > I’m not sure what this symbol is and it’s hard for me to describe. I couldn’t draw it in paint very well at all, but I made an approximation. [This](http://imgur.com/IkjPbHD)image is kinda close but instead of two “arms” there are three equally spaced. I have no idea why but it reminds me of a bike part or something from the 90’s. Interestingly (or not) if you cut off the bottom 25% of your two armed image it looks a little like a bike derailleur part. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2016, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-help-identifying-this-logo-or-symbol-please/751410/17 "2016-04-07T13:57:56Z")
> [@davidm](#): > > Why would it be on a bumper sticker? Well, it does exist [in both sticker and tee shirt form.](http://www.amazon.com/Black-White-45-Adapter-Sticker/dp/B0012SMCO6) I would assume a vinyl enthusiast, DJ, or hipster myself. ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2016, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-help-identifying-this-logo-or-symbol-please/751410/18 "2016-04-07T14:13:47Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Well, it does exist [in both sticker and tee shirt form.](http://www.amazon.com/Black-White-45-Adapter-Sticker/dp/B0012SMCO6) I would assume a vinyl enthusiast, DJ, or hipster myself. That makes sense.