# Strange Reflectors on Telephone Poles **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 12, 2011, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-reflectors-on-telephone-poles/588697 "2011-07-12T01:02:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ccd318/32.png) [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_in_Qatar)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2011, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-reflectors-on-telephone-poles/588697/1 "2011-07-12T01:02:14Z")
So here I am in Pennsylvania awating my wedding (and a really cool honeymoon). I have been driving around my new hometown. Many, most, of the telephone poles have some sort of odd yellow plastic thing on them. At about knee-level, facing traffic on the vast majority of telephone poles along at least the major byways I see a license-plate shaped (by a little larger) plastic panel. It has a large number or rectangular cut-outs, so the remaining plastic makes a grid. Telephone poles behind crash barriers or with cables running to the ground lack them. All of them always face traffic. So I am thinking UN Black Helicopters, your thouhts? ---
**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:** [July 12, 2011, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-reflectors-on-telephone-poles/588697/2 "2011-07-12T01:07:45Z")
Let’s see, height of headlights, facing traffic, only on on poles not behind a barrier. I’ll go out on a limb and guess they are covering up defects in the telephone poles. ---
**Author:** ![GaryM](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garym/32/241_2.png) [@GaryM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GaryM)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2011, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-reflectors-on-telephone-poles/588697/3 "2011-07-12T03:55:06Z")
Carpenter ants! Covering up their entry holes.:rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2011, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-reflectors-on-telephone-poles/588697/4 "2011-07-12T04:07:02Z")
Could be pre-wedding hallucination. ---
**Author:** ![Crazyhorse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crazyhorse/32/31_2.png) [@Crazyhorse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crazyhorse)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2011, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-reflectors-on-telephone-poles/588697/5 "2011-07-12T04:18:41Z")
I found [this](http://www.southphillyreview.com/news/features/Time-to-pause-and-reflect-87289567.html) example of these mysterious and suspicious devices. (a closer look [here](http://www.philebrity.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/xl_1600_1200_98FE616F-E82A-439C-935B-B7A65287EE53.jpeg.pagespeed.ic.AAKTEwK7-b.jpg)) Despite their seemingly obvious purpose they really have baffled a lot of people. > [@](#): > > Although they may not be hovering in the sky or forming crop circles, the grids’ prevalence has led many to question their purpose. Theories range from traffic-markers to termite-treatments — but the reason for their exsistance is surprisingly simple. ---
**Author:** ![cornflakes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@cornflakes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cornflakes)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2011, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-reflectors-on-telephone-poles/588697/6 "2011-07-12T05:03:40Z")
It’s clear that there was a major stock car pileup, and [these things](http://www.jegs.com/i/G-FORCE/471/4134YLK/10002/-1) got embedded into the poles. ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2011, 11:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-reflectors-on-telephone-poles/588697/7 "2011-07-12T11:26:42Z")
> [@Crazyhorse](#): > > (a closer look [here](http://www.philebrity.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/xl_1600_1200_98FE616F-E82A-439C-935B-B7A65287EE53.jpeg.pagespeed.ic.AAKTEwK7-b.jpg)) The design produces an optical illusion of fuzzy blue dots on the intersections of the yellow lines, but only where you’re not looking directly at it. As your eyeball motion shifts, so do the dancing phantom dots, to evade it. It’s like a video game in your visual cortex. ---
**Author:** ![Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ccd318/32.png) [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_in_Qatar)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2011, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-reflectors-on-telephone-poles/588697/8 "2011-07-12T18:05:28Z")
> [@Crazyhorse](#): > > I found [this](http://www.southphillyreview.com/news/features/Time-to-pause-and-reflect-87289567.html) example of these mysterious and suspicious devices. (a closer look [here](http://www.philebrity.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/xl_1600_1200_98FE616F-E82A-439C-935B-B7A65287EE53.jpeg.pagespeed.ic.AAKTEwK7-b.jpg)) Despite their seemingly obvious purpose they really have baffled a lot of people. Yes, them are they. Reflectors. Thank you very much. ---
**Author:** ![yabob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yabob/32/2821_2.png) [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2011, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-reflectors-on-telephone-poles/588697/9 "2011-07-12T18:08:58Z")
> [@Johanna](#): > > The design produces an optical illusion of fuzzy blue dots on the intersections of the yellow lines, but only where you’re not looking directly at it. As your eyeball motion shifts, so do the dancing phantom dots, to evade it. It’s like a video game in your visual cortex. Yeah, I noticed that. Here’s some background on the type of illusion it manages to create: > **[Grid illusion](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grid_illusion)** > > A grid illusion is any kind of grid that deceives a person's vision. The two most common types of grid illusions are the Hermann grid illusion and the scintillating grid illusion. > The Hermann grid illusion is an optical illusion reported by Ludimar Hermann in 1870. The illusion is characterized by "ghostlike" grey blobs perceived at the intersections of a white (or light-colored) grid on a black background. The grey blobs disappear when looking directly at an intersection. > The scintillating gri... ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2011, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-reflectors-on-telephone-poles/588697/10 "2011-07-12T20:15:51Z")
> [@Crazyhorse](#): > > I found [this](http://www.southphillyreview.com/news/features/Time-to-pause-and-reflect-87289567.html) example of these mysterious and suspicious devices. (a closer look [here](http://www.philebrity.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/xl_1600_1200_98FE616F-E82A-439C-935B-B7A65287EE53.jpeg.pagespeed.ic.AAKTEwK7-b.jpg)) Despite their seemingly obvious purpose they really have baffled a lot of people. OK, but that article does not seem to give any clear explanation of why they are _grids_. It seems a very odd design for a reflector to me. ---
**Author:** ![Crazyhorse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crazyhorse/32/31_2.png) [@Crazyhorse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crazyhorse)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2011, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-reflectors-on-telephone-poles/588697/11 "2011-07-12T20:56:21Z")
> [@njtt](#): > > OK, but that article does not seem to give any clear explanation of why they are _grids_. It seems a very odd design for a reflector to me. Besides the cool optical illusion pointed out by \*\*Johanna: \*\* > [@](#): > > The company responsible for manufacturing the reflectors is Almetek Industries Inc. in Hackettstown, N.J. According to its Web site, the grids are flexible and can be used for many different objects and surfaces, from trees to guardrails. > “There is a wide variety of pole reflectors and these reflector grids were chosen based upon what would be most visible in weather conditions and also when viewed at different angles, and what fits the pole standard,” Wood said of why they were selected. The company that makes the reflectors might offer more insight but it seems the grid design just makes it more flexible, using less material, while retaining sufficient reflectivity. To me the funny thing isn’t so much the grid design, but that every photo I saw shows them on streets completely lined on both sides by parked cars. So the potential pole-crasher would hit a parked car before they ever saw the reflector. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2011, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-reflectors-on-telephone-poles/588697/12 "2011-07-12T21:38:25Z")
> [@Crazyhorse](#): > > Besides the cool optical illusion pointed out by \*\*Johanna: > > \*\*The company that makes the reflectors might offer more insight but it seems the grid design just makes it more flexible, using less material, while retaining sufficient reflectivity. > > To me the funny thing isn’t so much the grid design, but that every photo I saw shows them on streets completely lined on both sides by parked cars. So the potential pole-crasher would hit a parked car before they ever saw the reflector. Most likely, there are few/no cars parked there in the evening/night hours. ---
**Author:** ![MikeF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@MikeF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MikeF)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2024, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-reflectors-on-telephone-poles/588697/13 "2024-10-29T00:23:31Z")
Resurrecting this thread because the same question has been bugging me so I searched the Dope and here we are. That said, I think whoever paid for these things and their installation was sold a bill of goods. While they are not hard to see in the daylight, I have never seen one at night. They don’t appear to be reflective at all. Was there some rash of people driving into poles at night only because they didn’t see them? If so, has the rash abated now that these things were installed? If you can’t stay on the roadway without having reflectors on large, fixed objects that are well off the road, maybe you ought to re-think your night driving habits. As a long time New Jersey (the place where these grids are/were made) resident, I can’t help but think a contract was was awarded to some political contributor somewhere. Maybe Hackettstown? ---
**Author:** ![KCB615](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ea666f/32.png) [@KCB615](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KCB615)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2024, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-reflectors-on-telephone-poles/588697/14 "2024-10-29T02:01:03Z")
I don’t know how I didn’t see this thread when it was first born, but here we are. If it’s the grids I think they are (about 6 inches by 8 inches, with the reflective parts being about 3/16 inch wide), the grids are the backing/holder/frame for adhesive reflective letters. The rectangles were the die-cut part of the reflective backing with the letters printed on them. The letters get pulled out as needed, leaving the grid. Using them as reflectors on the utility poles was just a way of recycling. The letters were usually black on yellow or black on white, with the grid being the yellow or black background. The letters were an inch or so tall. Anytime you see adhesive rectangles with letters on them on some sort of telephone or power company equipment, that’s where they came from. ---
**Author:** ![scudsucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scudsucker/32/14101_2.png) [@scudsucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scudsucker)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2024, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-reflectors-on-telephone-poles/588697/15 "2024-10-30T14:43:41Z")
In South Africa, at least (possibly Namibia too) there is a graffiti artist who attaches signs that are in the standard size and colours of regular signs, but are simply big red hearts on white, in a red circle Pretty widespread in the Westen Cape but I have seen them in Gauteng and KZN ---
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2024, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-reflectors-on-telephone-poles/588697/16 "2024-10-31T14:44:23Z")
I used to see arrows stapled to trees and tied to signs at intersections. They would appear suddenly and were purposely collected a few days later, though a few were sometimes forgotten. They are palm sized, small but easy to spot from the road when you knew what to look for. There was a pattern to them, up, up, L/R. Or maybe my eyes were playing tricks. Mysterious. Long story short, I think they directed mosquito abatement fogger trucks on a preplanned route.