When I think of octagons, I first think of stop signs. Did you ever wonder why a stop sign has an octagon shape? Well, I never did until Theo was talking about it the other day. Not surprisingly, early roads didn't have traffic signs at all because there was no need for them. However, as there more cars on the road, the need for control increased. Thus the stop sign. The first stop signs were posted in Detroit, Michigan in 1915. They were square and white with black lettering. By 1923, stop signs were standardized to be octagonal. With a standardization of shapes you could tell what the sign was signifying even if you saw it from the back.As for the octagonal shape to the sign, there was a bit of logic to it. The theory was that the more important the sign information was, the more sides it would have. A circle, with infinite sides, was used at railroad crossings where a car doesn't have much of a chance with a train. Next up is the stop sign with eight sides where stopping is important to avoid a collision with another car. Following that is the diamond, with 4 sides, indicating information like pedestrian crossing, and last is the rectangular sign also with 4 sides, but oriented in a more traditional way with information like speed limits. Where does that leave the yield sign with only three sides? It seems to me yielding is more important than the speed limit. However, the yield sign was not added to the highway signs until 1954, long after the other shapes were established.
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| By JERRYE & ROY KLOTZ MD - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=24260904 |
There are probably lots of other man made octagons out there, but it's time to move onto P.
https://didyouknowfacts.com/stop-signs-8-sides/
http://www.trafficsign.us/yellowyield.html
I didn't know there was an importance attached to the number of sides on a sign. Good to know!
ReplyDeleteI don't know if it's important to know about the significance of the number of sides to a stop sign, but I'm saving the info for the next time there's a lull in the conversation. I'm sure that will make me very popular. :)
DeleteI had no idea about the whys of a stop sign, or traffic signs in general. So I thank you for the bit of info.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was a id an architect built an octagon shaped house on a wooded lot on the side of the mountain (Yeah, I know mountains in Alabama are really just big hills) Not only was it a cool looking house nestled in the trees, but they had a flock of peacocks. We always looked at the house and the birds when we drove by it.
A "round" house and peacocks, that must have been something. The farmer, who used to live behind me, had peacocks. We rarely saw them, but we certainly heard them. They can be noisy birds.
DeleteWhat a neat looking church! There is something fascinating about rooms and buildings that are in a shape other than square or rectangular.
ReplyDeleteI had always thought the octagonal stop sign was for its distinctive shape--you don't have to be able to read to know what it is (no guarantee drivers are literate) but I see now that there is more to know about signs and their shapes.
Shapes out of the ordinary certainly catch our eyes. My friend had a "round" house in the woods. It was pretty neat looking, but did not have indoor plumbing. They took a shower outside with a sun shower. It doesn't sound as nice as the one Anne described.
DeleteVery interesting. I always assumed that stop signs were octagonal so you could tell what it was even if its face was obscured by snow. Now I'm wondering why there aren't any hexagonal road signs, or pentagons...
ReplyDeleteAnyhow, I did a quick image search for octagons... I found windows, coffee tables, rugs, trampolines, and gazebos. But the more interesting one was the UFC fighting octagons. Apparently this is some sort of cage fight in an octagonal cage? Yikes! Gives the octagon a bad name! :-)
Cage fighting is not my thing either. I wondered why none of the signs were hexagons. Maybe someone said hexagon and someone else made an octagon.
DeleteSpeaking of hexagons, did you know that "The Hexagon" is a euphemism for "France"? Back home, journalists very often refer to France as "The Hexagon", much like "the big appple" means NYC. Because France is pretty much shaped like an hexagon (in case anyone was wondering!).
DeleteI had to go take a look at France again. I see where the Hexagon name comes from, but I see more of a star. Anyway thanks for that tidbit of info. I feel more worldly knowing it.
DeleteWho Knew? But when I look at it, I only see five sides. Wonder what that says about me? :-)
DeleteThat was very interesting about the different shapes of the signs!
ReplyDeleteI found it interesting also.
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