# Those White Canes with the Red Tips...

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-white-canes-with-the-red-tips/292841>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [March 4, 2005, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-white-canes-with-the-red-tips/292841 "2005-03-04T01:42:00Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![postcards](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8e8cbc/32.png) [@postcards](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/postcards)\
**Post date:** [March 4, 2005, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-white-canes-with-the-red-tips/292841/1 "2005-03-04T01:42:00Z")

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…you know, the kind that blind people use. I’ve had two of them for years now, one I got in an antique/junk shop back in the late '70’s, and a collapsable one one that was used as a stage prop back in my theater days.

I just came across them the other day, and it got me to wondering if there was a technical term for them. I mean, ‘blind man’s cane’ sounds a bit arcane, as well as somewhat un-PC.

Anyone have any ideas?

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**Author:** ![pinkfreud](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pinkfreud/32/17603_2.png) [@pinkfreud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pinkfreud)\
**Post date:** [March 4, 2005, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-white-canes-with-the-red-tips/292841/2 "2005-03-04T01:53:05Z")

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Many years ago I dated a blind young man. At that time the red-tipped canes were sometimes called “ID canes” or “identification canes,” since they served not only as navigational aids, but as an identifier that let others know that the user was visually impaired.

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**Author:** ![dakravel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/85e7bf/32.png) [@dakravel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dakravel)\
**Post date:** [March 4, 2005, 8:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-white-canes-with-the-red-tips/292841/3 "2005-03-04T08:47:03Z")

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> **[White cane](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_cane)**
>
> A white cane is a device used by many people who are blind or visually impaired. A white cane primarily allows its user to scan their surroundings for obstacles or orientation marks, but is also helpful for onlookers in identifying the user as blind or visually impaired and taking appropriate care. The latter is the reason for the cane's white colour, which in many jurisdictions is mandatory.
> Mobility canes are often made from aluminium, graphite-reinforced plastic or other fibre-reinforced plas...

Apparently there’s a whole slew of canes out there and they’ve all got different names.

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**Author:** ![postcards](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8e8cbc/32.png) [@postcards](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/postcards)\
**Post date:** [March 4, 2005, 11:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-white-canes-with-the-red-tips/292841/4 "2005-03-04T11:34:56Z")

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Thanks for the comments and link. I guess “white cane” is about as technical as it gets.