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100 Symbols That Changed the World - Hardcover | Diverse Reads

100 Symbols That Changed the World

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100 Symbols That Changed The World looks at the genesis and adoption of the world’s most recognizable symbols.

Universal symbols have been used as a form of communication from the Bronze Age, when the dynasties of ancient Egypt began the evolution of the thousand characters used in Egyptian hieroglyphics. In pre-Columbian America the Mayan civilization set out on a similar course, using pictures as a narrative text.

With the adoption of written languages, symbols have come to represent an illustrated shorthand. The dollar sign in America evolved from colonists’ trade with the Spanish, and the widespread acceptance of Spanish currency in deals. Merchants’ clerks would shorten the repeated entry of “pesos” in their accounts ledgers, which needed to be written with a ‘p’ and an ‘s’. A single letter ‘s’ with the vertical stroke of the ‘p’ was much quicker. Historically correct dollar signs have a single stroke through the ‘S’.

Symbols are also used to impart quick, recognizable safety advice. The radio activity symbol was designed in Berkley in 1946 to warn of the dangers of radioactive substances – and following the widespread use of gas masks in WWII, the trefoil symbol echoed the shape of the mask.

There are many symbols of affiliation, not only to religious groups, but support of political causes or even brand loyalty. Symbols are used for identification, military markings and recognition of compatibility. They allow users to convey a large amount of information in a short space, such as the iconography of maps or an electrical circuit diagram. Symbols are an essential part of the architecture of mathematics.

And in the case of the 1964 Tokyo Olympics – the first Games to be held in an Asian country – symbols allowed the organizers to create event signage that wouldn’t be lost in translation. The set of Olympic sports pictograms for the Games was a novel solution, and one that was added to in Mexico and Munich.

Organized chronologically, 100 Symbols That Changed The World looks at the genesis and adoption of the world’s most recognizable symbols.

ISBN-13: 9781911216384

Media Type: Hardcover

Publisher: HarperCollins UK

Publication Date: 11-22-2022

Pages: 224

Product Dimensions: 9.20(w) x 7.40(h) x 1.00(d)

Colin Salter has a great skill in reducing complex histories to their key elements. He is the author of 100 Books That Changed the World, 100 Childrens Books That Inspire Our World, 100 Speeches That Roused the World, 100 Letters That Changed the World, 100 Posters That Changed the World and 100 Science Discoveries That Changed the World, with co-editions in five languages.

Table of Contents

Introduction 10

Swastika (c.18,000 BCE) 16

Triskelion (c.4400 BCE) 18

Caduceus (c.3500 BCE) 20

Evil Eye (c.3500 BCE) 22

Cuneiform (c.3400 BCE) 24

Egyptian, Mayan and Cretan hieroglyphs (c.3200 BCE) 26

Ankh (c.3000 BCE) 28

Tree of Life (c.1500 BCE) 30

Musical symbols/notation (c.1400 BCE) 32

Om (0.700 BCE) 34

Astrology signs (c.600 BCE) 36

Rod of Asclepius (c.450 BCE) 38

Yin-Yang (c.350 BCE) 40

Crescent and Star - Islam (339 BCE) 42

American Indian peuoglyphs (c.200 BCE) 44

Alchemy symbols (c.100 BCE) 46

Christian Cross/Latin Cross (33 CE) 48

Christian lethys (c.54 CE) 50

Wheel of Life (c.200 CE) 52

Runes (c.200 CE) 54

Pictish symbols (c.550 CE) 56

Fleur de Lvs (c.800 CE) 58

Cross at Lorraine (c.850 CE) 60

Irish harp (c.1000 CE) 62

Star of David (1008 CE) 64

Heraldic symbols (1066) 66

Playing card suits (c.1150) 68

Silver and gold hallmarks (1275) 70

Red flags (c.1290) 72

Paganism (1354) 74

Freemasonry (c.1390) 76

Square root (1525) 78

Equals sign (1557) 80

Maltese Cross (1567) 82

Yellow ribbon (c.1600) 84

The Jolly Roger (1625) 86

Viking staves (c.1650) 88

British Pound sign (1661) 90

Naval flag symbols (1689) 92

Pi (1706) 94

Male/Female (1751) 96

US Dollar sign (1778) 98

Democratic donkey/Republican elephant (1828 and 1874) 100

Clenched fist (1848) 102

Confederate Battle Flag (1861) 104

Red Cross/Red Crescent (1863 and 1876) 106

Anarchy (c.1865) 108

Motor racing flags (1865) 110

Japanese Yen/Chinese Yuan (1871 and 1889) 112

Plimsoll Line (1876) 114

Football club badges (1888) 116

Cartography symbols on OS maps (1892) 118

Hammer and Sickle (1895) 120

Electrical Earth (1901) 122

Traffic symbols (1908) 124

Electrical symbols for circuit diagrams (1909) 126

Olympic rings (1912) 128

Military aircraft insignia (1912) 130

London Underground (1915) 132

Poppy (1915) 134

Mercedes Tri-pointed Star (1926) 136

Hobo symbols (1930s) 138

LGBTQQ pink triangle (1933) 140

National Trust oak leaf (1936) 142

PW Polish WWII resistance (1942) 144

United Nations (1945) 146

Radioactivity (1946) 148

Dove with olive branch (1949) 150

UNICEF (1953) 152

NATO (1953) 154

Washing instruction symbols (1956) 156

Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (1958) 158

World Wildlife Fund panda (1961) 160

The Smiley (1962) 162

Woolmark (19(54) 164

Olympic pictograms (1964) 166

Bio Hazard (1966) 168

International Symbol of Access (1968) 170

Tidyman (1969) 172

Universal Recycling (1970) 174

Organic certification (1973) 176

Power on/off (1973) 178

Leather mark (1973) 180

Nuclear power? No thanks (1975) 182

Apple Inc. (1977) 184

Anonymous mask (1982) 186

Windows (1985) 188

AIDS red ribbon (1991) 190

Forestry Stewardship Council FSC (1993) 192

Internet browsers (1994) 194

Settings icon (1995) 196

Euro (1996) 198

Fairtrade (1997) 200

GHS - Flammable sign (2003) 202

Android (2007) 204

Spotify (2008) 206

Extinction Rebellion (2011) 208

Twitter (2010) 210

Wild Atlantic Way (2014) 212

Rainbow symbols (2020) 214

Index 216