# Origin of play, stop, pause, etc. buttons? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 19, 2008, 6:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-play-stop-pause-etc-buttons/473426 "2008-11-19T06:09:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2008, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-play-stop-pause-etc-buttons/473426/21 "2008-11-20T14:03:59Z")
Rightward movement as forward movement seems like a pretty well engrained convention in Western culture. It’s how we read, both music and text. I wonder if there have been many leftward pointing forward arrows in cultures where writing goes right to left instead of left to right. -FrL- ---
**Author:** ![seodoa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4af34b/32.png) [@seodoa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/seodoa)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2008, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-play-stop-pause-etc-buttons/473426/22 "2008-11-20T14:20:21Z")
> [@Frylock](#): > > Rightward movement as forward movement seems like a pretty well engrained convention in Western culture. It’s how we read, both music and text. > > I wonder if there have been many leftward pointing forward arrows in cultures where writing goes right to left instead of left to right. > > -FrL- Yeah, that was pretty much the thrust of my argument. We say right is forward because that’s the way we view things as a culture, particularly WRT reading. And I agree, it would be interesting to hear from someone else about what is a forward-pointing arrow. Japanese allows text to be written (and read) in a couple different directions, so I’m curious what answer I would get from my coworkers. I think I’ll conduct a little study tomorrow morning… 😃 Oh, and re: katakana “ri” as the pause symbol, I have found no connection searching Japanese Wikipedia or Japanese Google… Considering that the original source for the statement wouldn’t even meet the dirt standard, let alone a gold one, I am going to say it is safe to discount it. I mean, come on, the original source was not only a post on “[answerbag.com](http://answerbag.com)” it was a single, uncited, one-sentence post that was also the user’s only post on the site. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_the\_Turtle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_the_turtle/32/2926_2.png) [@Fear\_the\_Turtle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_the_Turtle)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2008, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-play-stop-pause-etc-buttons/473426/23 "2008-11-20T18:46:23Z")
I always thought the double lines were from the “ **U** ” in PA **U** SE (with the lower part cutoff, obviously). Am I completely off base? ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2008, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-play-stop-pause-etc-buttons/473426/24 "2008-11-20T21:04:24Z")
I thought that was the supposed origin of the “double-vertical-strikethrough” dollar sign. ---
**Author:** ![Vox\_Imperatoris](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Vox\_Imperatoris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Vox_Imperatoris)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2008, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-play-stop-pause-etc-buttons/473426/25 "2008-11-21T00:21:19Z")
Ok, then. The caesura theory seems likely for the pause symbol, and I guess that the square for stop could be interpreted as the absence of an arrow. What about the circle for record? Valete, Vox Imperatoris ---
**Author:** ![haridesign](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e8c25b/32.png) [@haridesign](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/haridesign)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2015, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-play-stop-pause-etc-buttons/473426/26 "2015-04-03T00:02:42Z")
Hello: Back in the 60’s, I was a designer for the Ampex Corporation. One day, F. Arden Farey, the manager of industrial design gave me the task to create an icon for pause since the company was marketing in foriegn markets and the word “pause” didn’t translate well in most foriegn languages. I looked at pause and finally decided that it was a “sorta” stop. After generating concepts, I decided to use the square of stop and break it up or interupt the box. A horzontal line would have given an “equals” symbol and other designs wouldn’t work well as small graphic symbols. So, the vertical was decided upon for its ease of reading but also it created what I called a “stutter stop” symbol. So, although I am Japanese American, ther is no esoteric or Zen meaning, just straight forward design problem solving. i was employed at Ampex in Elk Grove Village, IL from 1964 to 1971, in the consumer products division on Landmier Road and Estes Ave. ---
**Author:** ![zut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zut/32/2875_2.png) [@zut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zut)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2015, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-play-stop-pause-etc-buttons/473426/27 "2015-04-03T00:16:01Z")
Oooh. sweet! What was the first product the “stutter stop” symbol was used on? Do you remember? ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2015, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-play-stop-pause-etc-buttons/473426/28 "2015-04-03T00:51:20Z")
> [@haridesign](#): > > Hello: Back in the 60’s, I was a designer for the Ampex Corporation. One day, F. Arden Farey, the manager of industrial design gave me the task to create an icon for pause since the company was marketing in foriegn markets and the word “pause” didn’t translate well in most foriegn languages. I looked at pause and finally decided that it was a “sorta” stop. After generating concepts, I decided to use the square of stop and break it up or interupt the box. A horzontal line would have given an “equals” symbol and other designs wouldn’t work well as small graphic symbols. So, the vertical was decided upon for its ease of reading but also it created what I called a “stutter stop” symbol. So, although I am Japanese American, ther is no esoteric or Zen meaning, just straight forward design problem solving. > i was employed at Ampex in Elk Grove Village, IL from 1964 to 1971, in the consumer products division on Landmier Road and Estes Ave. Thanks for sharing this! But that raises another question: what’s the origin of the square for “stop?” ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2015, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-play-stop-pause-etc-buttons/473426/29 "2015-04-03T01:08:37Z")
I realize that this is an old thread, but assuming that further investigation ensues, it seems like people should consider professional recording equipment as they search backwards. It would seem likely that the record industry would have the earliest equipment for manipulating the time on a recording, not personal and home devices. From there, it would be fairly simple for those symbols to show up in consumer wares. ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2015, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-play-stop-pause-etc-buttons/473426/30 "2015-04-03T01:22:32Z")
> [@](#): > > They are road signs for your daily rituals-the instantly recognized symbols and icons you press, click, and ogle countless times a day when you interact with your computer. But how much do you know about their origins? [http://gizmodo.com/5612630/the-secret-histories-of-those-ing-computer-symbols](http://gizmodo.com/5612630/the-secret-histories-of-those-ing-computer-symbols) ---
**Author:** ![robert\_columbia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e79b87/32.png) [@robert\_columbia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robert_columbia)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2015, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-play-stop-pause-etc-buttons/473426/31 "2015-04-03T01:42:30Z")
> [@Dog80](#): > > AFAIK the arrow points to the direction of movement of the tape. On models where you load the cassete upside-down the arrow points to the left What about when the symbol appears in software, where there is no physical tape? My English-language copy of Windows Media Player has the button going to the right. Anyone have a version of it in a language that goes right to left, like Hebrew, Arabic, or Farsi? Does it go to the right too or have they changed it to go to the left? ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2015, 7:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-play-stop-pause-etc-buttons/473426/32 "2015-04-03T07:53:54Z")
Did we really just get a visit from the guy who invented the pause symbol? ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2015, 9:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-play-stop-pause-etc-buttons/473426/33 "2015-04-03T09:14:38Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > Did we really just get a visit from the guy who invented the pause symbol? Rather cool, ain’t it? ---
**Author:** ![Aspidistra](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspidistra/32/3894_2.png) [@Aspidistra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspidistra)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2015, 10:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-play-stop-pause-etc-buttons/473426/34 "2015-04-03T10:41:44Z")
The incidental details certainly sound convincing… [Relevant Google](http://www.google.com/patents/USD207203) ---
**Author:** ![buddha\_david](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ee7513/32.png) [@buddha\_david](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buddha_david)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2015, 11:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-play-stop-pause-etc-buttons/473426/35 "2015-04-03T11:41:07Z")
> [@haridesign](#): > > One day, **F. Arden Farey** … Bloody awesome name. ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2015, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-play-stop-pause-etc-buttons/473426/36 "2015-04-03T22:54:45Z")
While I have no intention of questioning the veracity of our new member **haridesign** , I occasionally worked with and around Ampex audio and video recorders in the 1970s, and couldn’t recall them using that pause symbol. So I’ve just spent almost an hour Googling images of Ampex VTRs and ATRs from the 1950s to the 1980s, and haven’t found any that even have a pause button, much less one with the vertical lines pause symbol. Some ATRs had an “Edit” button, for instance, [this one](http://soniccircus.com/ampex_440_vintage_tape_machine_a1.jpg), the Ampex 440 audio deck, which was introduced in 1967. A plain white button, with the word “EDIT” above it. And IIRC, it didn’t function as a pause button: it stopped the take-up reel, so that when you hit play, the tape would spill onto the floor. The Ampex VTRs I’ve found didn’t have pause or edit buttons, just Stop, Play, and Record, with large initial letters of those words, and \< and \> symbols for rewind and fast forward. Like [here](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/58/AMPEX_2_ZOLL.jpg). I’ve always associated the pause symbol with Sony products. I’m not saying they invented it, but I’m pretty sure it was on a Sony producr, probably a 1960s ATR, that I first saw it. And the square for Stop, too. ---
**Author:** ![bleachjob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/eb8c5e/32.png) [@bleachjob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bleachjob)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2022, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-play-stop-pause-etc-buttons/473426/37 "2022-03-09T00:47:21Z")
This is a long shot but I’m doing a research project on the pause symbol and this thread is one of the very few sources on the topic. I’m trying to figure out who first used the symbol/who really designed it. I swear I’ve looked at every device created by Ampex from the 50’s to the 80’s and didn’t see them use the double-line pause button. If they happen to have a pause button, they don’t use that symbol. If you ever see this could you please point me to the device you worked on? I have yet to see the symbol appear anywhere before 1970. Not just on Ampex devices- Philips, Sony, Grundig, Akai, JVC, u name it. I’m still looking, but any extra info helps ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2022, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-play-stop-pause-etc-buttons/473426/38 "2022-03-09T01:30:21Z")
For what it’s worth, I used to have a portable tape player that would run in both directions. There was a little switch to swap the direction of playback, and when it got to the the end of the tape it was playing, that switch would automatically reverse to play the other side of the tape (or you could switch it manually at any time). Only one “play” button was ever used, and the icon always pointed the same direction on it (though whether you call that direction left or right would, I suppose, depend on how you were holding the player). ---
**Author:** ![lobotomyboy63](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobotomyboy63/32/2900_2.png) [@lobotomyboy63](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lobotomyboy63)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2022, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-play-stop-pause-etc-buttons/473426/39 "2022-03-09T01:50:39Z")
> [@bleachjob](#): > > This is a long shot but I’m doing a research project on the pause symbol and this thread is one of the very few sources on the topic. I’m trying to figure out who first used the symbol/who really designed it. I haven’t read the whole thread (it’s quite old) but I heard that the real source was music. You might consult this: > **[Caesura](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caesura)** > > A caesura (/siˈzjʊərə/, pl. caesuras or caesurae; Latin for "cutting"), also written cæsura and cesura, is a metrical pause or break in a verse where one phrase ends and another phrase begins. It may be expressed by a comma (,), a tick (✓), or two lines, either slashed (//) or upright (||). In time value, this break may vary between the slightest perception of silence all the way up to a full pause. > In classical Greek and Latin poetry a caesura is the juncture where one word ends and the followi... ---
**Author:** ![bleachjob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/eb8c5e/32.png) [@bleachjob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bleachjob)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2022, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-play-stop-pause-etc-buttons/473426/40 "2022-03-09T02:14:54Z")
thanks, but I’m trying to find the first electronic device the symbol appeared on and who put it there. I want to know when it became a media control symbol like the play triangle and stop square. the inspiration for the symbol doesn’t really matter to me [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-play-stop-pause-etc-buttons/473426.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-play-stop-pause-etc-buttons/473426.md?page=3)