# Universal symbols **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 14, 2020, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/universal-symbols/847946 "2020-02-14T19:21:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**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:** [February 18, 2020, 7:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/universal-symbols/847946/101 "2020-02-18T07:09:46Z")
> [@Ignotus](#): > > Even when pointing out directions, inanimate objects and such? For some, yes. It’s the index finger itself that’s considered rude (consider how it would look to us if someone used their middle finger exclusively to point ), Hence thumb pointing or whole-hand pointing. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2020, 9:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/universal-symbols/847946/102 "2020-02-18T09:06:44Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > I was thinking this one — [https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d2/Peace\_sign.svg](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d2/Peace_sign.svg) I recall some debate about the origin of that. A fundamentalist christian once told me it was evil because it represented the cross of jesus with the arms broken off and fallen down, about which I was somewhat skeptical. Someone else told me that it was semaphore: a vertical line for the letter D (“disarmament”) and the two lower lines for the letter N (“now”), which seemed more likely. Or maybe it is just the footprint of the dove of peace? > [@Pardel-Lux](#): > > … The only Pole joke I remember … There is no need to remember most Pole jokes, because they become reincarnated periodically with a different subject type. If you know any blonde jokes, there is a good chance that many of them were once Pole jokes, and probably previously were aimed at different butts before that, rinse/repeat. (Of course, that one about the polish remover is a little too specific for reuse.) ---
**Author:** ![Pardel-Lux](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pardel-lux/32/20182_2.png) [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2020, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/universal-symbols/847946/103 "2020-02-18T15:37:12Z")
> [@Ignotus](#): > > OK, those would totally confuse _me_, since I’ve never been to Poland. […] Found a [picture](http://travel.polimex.com/uploads/assets/content_photos/interesting/toilets.jpg). The triangle is indeed male, the circle is female. I just read searching for that that in Lithuania they use two triangles, one upside down, the other not. Makes me wonder what they were thinking of. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2020, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/universal-symbols/847946/104 "2020-02-18T18:01:51Z")
> [@Pardel-Lux](#): > > Found a [picture](http://travel.polimex.com/uploads/assets/content_photos/interesting/toilets.jpg). The triangle is indeed male, the circle is female. > I just read searching for that that in Lithuania they use two triangles, one upside down, the other not. Makes me wonder what they were thinking of. A triangle has a right side up and an upside down? ---
**Author:** ![Pardel-Lux](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pardel-lux/32/20182_2.png) [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2020, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/universal-symbols/847946/105 "2020-02-18T18:59:59Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > A triangle has a right side up and an upside down? Yes indeed. An equilateral triangle in this example, to be precise. The one rests on its side (you can choose which one you like best). The other rests precariously in an unstable balance on one of its corners (you can choose again which one you like best). ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2020, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/universal-symbols/847946/106 "2020-02-18T21:58:20Z")
> [@Pardel-Lux](#): > > Yes indeed. An equilateral triangle in this example, to be precise. The one rests on its side (you can choose which one you like best). The other rests precariously in an unstable balance on one of its corners (you can choose again which one you like best). If it’s being rested on, is it a side or a bottom? An image of a triangle on a sign experiences unstable balance? ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2020, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/universal-symbols/847946/107 "2020-02-18T22:34:08Z")
The discussion is about triangles: θ[sub]1[/sub] + θ[sub]2[/sub] + θ[sub]3[/sub] = 180° – so please fail to be, um, obtuse. ---
**Author:** ![Pardel-Lux](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pardel-lux/32/20182_2.png) [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2020, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/universal-symbols/847946/108 "2020-02-18T22:44:01Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > The discussion is about triangles: θ[sub]1[/sub] + θ[sub]2[/sub] + θ[sub]3[/sub] = 180° – so please fail to be, um, obtuse. In this particular case it is θ[sub]1[/sub] = θ[sub]2[/sub] = θ[sub]3[/sub] = 60°, which is just neither acute nor obstuse. 😃 Just as I was saying. Ot trying to. But I think I will let it rest at that before being accused of hijacking :dubious: This is about Universal Symbols​:trade\_mark:, so I offer a smiley 🙂 and wave goodbye for tonight. 🆒 ---
**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:** [February 19, 2020, 5:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/universal-symbols/847946/109 "2020-02-19T05:35:05Z")
> [@Pardel-Lux](#): > > In this particular case it is θ[sub]1[/sub] = θ[sub]2[/sub] = θ[sub]3[/sub] = 60°, which is just neither acute nor obstuse. 60° is indeed acute. Equilateral triangles \*are \*acute triangles. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2020, 6:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/universal-symbols/847946/110 "2020-02-19T06:57:58Z")
This unstable equilibrium stuff brings to mind the [taijitu](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bd/Bagua_Zhao_Huiqian.jpg) and bagua, but I left that out because while I think many educated people recognize yin and yang, I’m not sure they are quite universal. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2020, 10:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/universal-symbols/847946/112 "2020-02-19T10:02:10Z")
> [@edwardo19](#): > > The only ones I can think of are certain currency symbols (euro, pound, yen (although I believe those are on some computer keyboards)) and some road signs. But I’m not sure how many of the second group can really be considered universal. The Stop sign for sure; Yield and Do Not Enter, very likely; not sure if there’s any others. You just quoted part of the OP without attibution. Did you mean to add something to that? ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2020, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/universal-symbols/847946/113 "2020-02-19T16:19:19Z")
I’m thinking musical notes are pretty universally recognized at this point. ♬ ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2020, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/universal-symbols/847946/114 "2020-02-19T21:36:46Z")
> [@cmyk](#): > > I’m thinking musical notes are pretty universally recognized at this point. ♬ That’s a good one. Though even they aren’t truly universal - in Germany they use similar symbols but for different meanings, which is annoying if you’ve just started learning an instrument in England and then move to Germany. > [@eschereal](#): > > I recall some debate about the origin of that. A fundamentalist christian once told me it was evil because it represented the cross of jesus with the arms broken off and fallen down, about which I was somewhat skeptical. Someone else told me that it was semaphore: a vertical line for the letter D (“disarmament”) and the two lower lines for the letter N (“now”), which seemed more likely. Or maybe it is just the footprint of the dove of peace? It was designed specifically for the organisation CND, so I don’t see how there can be any debate about why it’s designed like it is. [The actual designer says:](https://cnduk.org/the-symbol/) > [@](#): > > Gerald Holtom, a conscientious objector who had worked on a farm in Norfolk during the Second World War, explained that the symbol incorporated the semaphore letters N(uclear) and D(isarmament). > > He later wrote to Hugh Brock, editor of Peace News, explaining the genesis of his idea in greater, more personal depth: > ‘I was in despair. Deep despair. I drew myself: the representative of an individual in despair, with hands palm outstretched outwards and downwards in the manner of Goya’s peasant before the firing squad. I formalised the drawing into a line and put a circle round it.’ He goes on to say that he considered using a Christian cross but decided against it. It wasn’t copyrighted due to the principle that everyone should be in favour of peace, but, still it had one original designer who has explicitly explained what the design is. ---
**Author:** ![Grestarian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grestarian/32/3227_2.png) [@Grestarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grestarian)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2020, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/universal-symbols/847946/115 "2020-02-24T22:31:39Z")
> [@dtilque](#): > > Not counting trademarks and those found on computer keyboards, what symbols can reasonably be considered universal? > … > The Stop sign for sure I thought I’d pounce on this early. I’ll read through the other responses later. The sign stuck on a pole next to the road is actually not universal. In Japan, it’s a triangle with the point down and the [kanji for \](https://stickerart.com.au/showproduct-kanji-character-sticker-stop.html) on it. In the USA, it’s a red octagon with the word STOP on it. –G! ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2020, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/universal-symbols/847946/116 "2020-02-24T22:45:43Z")
> [@Grestarian](#): > > In the USA, it’s a red octagon with the word STOP on it. In the United States and almost all of Europe, that is. ---
**Author:** ![Grestarian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grestarian/32/3227_2.png) [@Grestarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grestarian)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2020, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/universal-symbols/847946/117 "2020-02-25T00:04:29Z")
Like the \*floppy disk = save icon \*problem, I suspect the \*handset = telephone number \*association will be gone soon as well. Even in the 1980’s and 1990’s the abundance of land line phones meant people would recognize the handset symbol as somehow associated with their phone – even the newfangled variations of telephones tended to have something resembling a handset just because the average human head has the ears and mouth located in a way that makes it best for some kind of talk & listen device to be in that kind of a shape. Now, though, with the super-sensitive microphones on relatively flat cell-phones, there’s no need for a handset and the icon will be less and less familiar. –G! ---
**Author:** ![Terminus\_Est](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terminus_est/32/3087_2.png) [@Terminus\_Est](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terminus_Est)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2020, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/universal-symbols/847946/118 "2020-02-25T01:52:56Z")
On the subject of obsolete symbols, here’s a traffic sign that you might see while driving in the UK. It’s at least two or three generations out of date by now, but still in use: [What’s this sign?](https://imgur.com/a/rPtVXLq) It’s a camera. The sign is used to warn motorists that speed cameras are in use in the area. ---
**Author:** ![Banksiaman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banksiaman/32/3334_2.png) [@Banksiaman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banksiaman)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2020, 10:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/universal-symbols/847946/119 "2020-02-25T10:57:10Z")
> [@Terminus\_Est](#): > > On the subject of obsolete symbols, here’s a traffic sign that you might see while driving in the UK. It’s at least two or three generations out of date by now, but still in use: [What’s this sign?](https://imgur.com/a/rPtVXLq) Danger - Annie Leibovitz ahead! ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2020, 7:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/universal-symbols/847946/120 "2020-02-26T07:20:00Z")
Speaking of road signs, I always thought it was interesting that a UK sign warning of an upcoming railway crossing shows the train (or at least the [locomotive](https://images.app.goo.gl/6DdLgDh8B3YmCvaT7)\*), but a Canadian sign shows the _[track](https://images.app.goo.gl/9A4fJYYzN7AhAabK9)_. At the crossing itself is the traditional crossbuck, which in Canada is [white with a red border and no words](https://images.app.goo.gl/VJ5RhSSVZv3Q3FCh6). \*The locomotive symbol is for an uncontrolled crossing. A sign warning of a controlled crossing has a symbol of a gate, which looks like a picket fence. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2020, 8:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/universal-symbols/847946/121 "2020-02-26T08:10:08Z")
And in the “guess the sign” category, there was one of [these signs](https://www.trafficsigns.com/media/catalog/product/cache/1/image/9df78eab33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/t/o/tourist_information_symbol_d9-10.jpg), with an accompanying arrow, on the main street of the town where I grew up. What does it mean? [spoiler]The blue sign with a white question mark means “tourist information centre ahead”. You would think it would have some variant of the letter “i”, but no… ETA: here’s [another version](https://maps.app.goo.gl/KZcVNqgNnqZJ1NYW7) of the ? sign flagging the way to the tourist information centre just off Highway 420, the Rainbow Bridge Approach\*, as it becomes a surface street upon entering the city of Niagara Falls. Newer versions like this have the word “information” underneath the question mark. \*…and if that doesn’t sound like some kind of elaborate pot-related double entendre…[/spoiler] [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/universal-symbols/847946.md?page=5)