I’m muddling through a new idea about symbols that have lost their original context, but that hang around in our culture anyway. I have a few examples, but I need more.
One example is the “save” icon that looks like a tiny little floppy diskette in most Microsoft programs… even though most people under 35 will have no idea what a floppy diskette is.
Another example is the QWERTY keyboard, which has been around since the 1800s, and which takes its illogical organization from (depending on the legend you favor) either a need to keep the metal arms that held the type in the earliest typewriters from slamming into each other or the needs or telegraph operators who needed to translate Morse code in a hurry. Either way, the original need set has long since faded into obscurity.
Yet another example are the signs western cultures use to designate bathrooms for males and females, usually black silhouettes on a white background with the heads floating detached in a disturbing way a little bit above the bodies. The female icon wears a skirt and has her arms akimbo, while the male icon is either nude or wearing pants and has his arms pointing straight down in a rigid pose. Perhaps when these signs first hit public toilets everywhere women didn’t wear pants, but that is obviously no longer the case.
My Question: what other examples can you, dear readers, share with me?
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