# Symbolism Behind Company Logos **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [June 19, 2026, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/symbolism-behind-company-logos/1031027 "2026-06-19T20:32:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![robby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robby/32/11048_2.png) [@robby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robby)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2026, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/symbolism-behind-company-logos/1031027/41 "2026-06-24T22:48:55Z")
> [@snowthx](#): > > Many medical and health care companies use the [Staff of Aesculapius](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rod_of_Asclepius) in their logo (staff with the snake), which symbolizes health and medicine. Which is the correct usage, of course. And then you have the organizations that confused the Staff of Aesculapius with the [Caduceus](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caduceus) carried by Hermes, apparently because they both involve a rod and snake(s), so close enough? This includes organizations like the [U.S. Army Medical Corps](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Army_Medical_Corps) and countless physician organizations, all proudly displaying a caduceus in their logos and symbology. Unfortunately, unlike the Staff of Aesculapius, the caduceus never had anything whatsoever to do with medicine or healing. It was instead the symbol for trade and commerce, so maybe a bit of a Freudian slip there by the physicians. > **[Caduceus as a symbol of medicine](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caduceus_as_a_symbol_of_medicine)** > > The caduceus is the traditional symbol of Hermes and features two snakes winding around an often winged staff. Ancient sources associate Hermes with a variety of attributes, including wisdom, trade, deception, thievery, eloquence, negotiation, and alchemy. Nevertheless it is often used as a symbol of medicine, especially in the United States. > The modern use of the caduceus as a symbol of medicine became established in the United States in the late 19th and early 20th century as a result of well... ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2026, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/symbolism-behind-company-logos/1031027/42 "2026-06-24T22:58:09Z")
The official explanation for the caduceus is that it represents the speed with which patients were transported to hospitals. In my opinion, it was more likely an artistic choice. If you shrink a Staff of Aesculapius down to the size of a collar pin, it becomes nearly invisible, and very hard to identify. You could take two of them crossed _en saltire_, but that might be mistaken for the crossed weapons of the combat services. Also, the guy who designed the emblems was **extremely** fond of bilateral symmetry. Which the caduceus has, and the staff of Aesculapius does not. ---
**Author:** ![robby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robby/32/11048_2.png) [@robby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robby)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2026, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/symbolism-behind-company-logos/1031027/43 "2026-06-24T23:17:38Z")
> [@mbh](#): > > The official explanation for the caduceus is that it represents the speed with which patients were transported to hospitals. Right. šŸ™„ From everything Iā€™ve read, it was pretty clearly a mistake due to confusing the two symbols, and all of the various subsequent justifications were post-hoc rationalizations after the erroneous symbol had become so well-established. > [@mbh](#): > > In my opinion, it was more likely an artistic choice. If you shrink a Staff of Aesculapius down to the size of a collar pin, it becomes nearly invisible, and very hard to identify. You could take two of them crossed _en saltire_, but that might be mistaken for the crossed weapons of the combat services. As for a collar lapel pin, you could simply put it on a background like the EMT logo above (with crossed bandages). ---
**Author:** ![Sigene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df788c/32.png) [@Sigene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigene)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2026, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/symbolism-behind-company-logos/1031027/44 "2026-06-24T23:41:32Z")
Husqvarna was founded as a gun factory in 1689. Their logo is a the end of a gun barrel with the front and back sights mounted on the top [![](https://1000logos.net/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/Husqvarna-Logo-500x313.png) ](https://1000logos.net/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/Husqvarna-Logo-500x313.png) ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2026, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/symbolism-behind-company-logos/1031027/45 "2026-06-25T00:03:08Z")
> [@TreacherousCretin](#): > > > [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > > > and the arrow leading from A to Z in the Amazon logo. > > Weā€™ve been Amazon customers for at least 25 years now and I donā€™t want to admit how very recently I noticed this for the first time. And I ā€œnoticedā€ it because someone pointed it out to me. Even more subtlety, the arrow is in the shape of a smile, with the arrowhead acting as the end of a mouth. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2026, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/symbolism-behind-company-logos/1031027/46 "2026-06-25T02:19:40Z")
I am the opposite. I saw the smile instantly on seeing the logo. The A to Z arrow had to be pointed out to me. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2026, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/symbolism-behind-company-logos/1031027/47 "2026-06-25T21:16:48Z")
Ditto. ---
**Author:** ![robby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robby/32/11048_2.png) [@robby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robby)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2026, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/symbolism-behind-company-logos/1031027/48 "2026-06-26T03:45:55Z")
Same here. In fact, I learned it from this thread. šŸ˜‰ ---
**Author:** ![scabpicker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scabpicker/32/8268_2.png) [@scabpicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scabpicker)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2026, 6:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/symbolism-behind-company-logos/1031027/49 "2026-06-26T06:49:08Z")
Same over here. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2026, 7:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/symbolism-behind-company-logos/1031027/50 "2026-06-26T07:11:13Z")
The logo of the Milwaukee Brewers baseball team is not only the letters ā€œMā€ and ā€œB,ā€ but is also a baseball glove. [![](https://www.freelogovectors.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/milwaukee-brewers-logo-freelogovectors.net_.png) ](https://www.freelogovectors.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/milwaukee-brewers-logo-freelogovectors.net_.png) ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2026, 7:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/symbolism-behind-company-logos/1031027/51 "2026-06-26T07:13:19Z")
Amtrakā€™s is a pair of rails in a bit of a draw. [![](https://logos-world.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Amtrak-Emblem.png) ](https://logos-world.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Amtrak-Emblem.png) ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2026, 7:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/symbolism-behind-company-logos/1031027/52 "2026-06-26T07:55:38Z")
The old Jack in the Box logo has a Jesus Fish for the o and x in ā€œBoxā€. [![](https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcS2XsYATIo11poxZ-tt8iC1oTz27DQvNjEMrg&s) ](https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcS2XsYATIo11poxZ-tt8iC1oTz27DQvNjEMrg&s) ---
**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:** [June 26, 2026, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/symbolism-behind-company-logos/1031027/53 "2026-06-26T12:52:07Z")
Huh. Iā€™d always seen the glove, but never deconstructed it into letters. ---
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2026, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/symbolism-behind-company-logos/1031027/54 "2026-06-26T15:51:26Z")
> [@DesertDog](#): > > Amtrakā€™s is a pair of rails in a bit of a draw. I never noticed that one before. I always just saw the Amtrak logo as a ā€œgeneric swoosh thingā€ logo. ---
**Author:** ![robby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robby/32/11048_2.png) [@robby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robby)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2026, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/symbolism-behind-company-logos/1031027/55 "2026-06-26T17:18:48Z")
> [@WildaBeast](#): > > > [@DesertDog](#): > > > > Amtrakā€™s is a pair of rails in a bit of a draw. > > I never noticed that one before. I always just saw the Amtrak logo as a ā€œgeneric swoosh thingā€ logo. Ditto. Iā€™m surprised that I never noticed many of these before. This is a pretty informative thread! ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2026, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/symbolism-behind-company-logos/1031027/56 "2026-06-30T14:30:47Z")
I drive past this establishment all the time and never saw the image hidden in the logo until recently. [[Album] imgur.com ![](https://i.imgur.com/EGgNj9q.jpeg?fb "imgur.com") ](https://imgur.com/a/oFByebT) [The logo on the website makes it a little more clear.](https://www.mrchickencle.com/) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/symbolism-behind-company-logos/1031027.md?page=2)