What's the origin of the Kendall Motor Oil logo?

Factual Questions
1

I have the habit of showing the two-finger “peace” symbol to friends I pass by in the hall or on the street ( I don’t know why, really. Just something I do). Recently, a friend of mine, knowing my inclination to greet people with that symbol, gave me a groovy hat with the Kendall Motor Oil logo on it. Their logo looks just like the two-finger peace symbol (not The Footprint of the American Chicken, that’s the other peace symbol).

I seriously doubt that the Kendall logo was inspired by hippies in the 60’s and beyond. What is the origin of the company’s logo?

2

The logo dates back to at least the 1940’s, and was apparently supposed to symbolize that Kendall Motor Oil was good for 2,000 miles (unlike the weak-tea, namby-pamby competing motor oils, which evidently didn’t last as long).

3

This may be too simplistic an answer, but are you aware that gesture is also sign language for the letter k?

4

And, ironically, the peace sign hand gesture is also the “V” for victory hand gesture.

5

Nah. For one thing, the Kendall Motor Oil logo looks more like the sign language for “V” than it does for “K”. It’s two fingers for 2,000 miles.

6

Ringo, are you sure? I have always been under the impression that palm-forward was the “peace” sign and knuckles-forward was for “victory.”

MEB, I’d say the position of the thumb makes it a toss-up.

7

Um, isn’t the knuckles forward the English equivalent of flipping the bird?

8

And just to follow up on MEB’s answer, motor oils at that time typically lasted 500 miles.

9

Yes it is - but that’s not to say that it isn’t also used in sign language to mean something else