Good Morning

Oct 02023
⪮ Good Morning :: ⪮ s02e10: Flags, Music and Symbolism
Long exposure of candle floating memorializing the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki to end nuclear weapons.

We started with an interesting fun-fact we recently learnt and that lead to a thread about signaling and flags.

🤯☮️ (N)uclear (D)isarmament Semaphore

Gerald Holtom, a conscientious objector in World War II, would go on to create what is now the famous Peace Sign. After several attempts, he used the semaphore signs for N and D (a vertical line and the downward strokes), and the anti-war symbol was formed.

https://99percentinvisible.org/article/anti-war-semaphore-hidden-meaning-encoded-in-a-universal-symbol-of-peace/

🚩🥁 HELP! Album cover

The Beatles infamous HELP cover features the fab-four holding out their hands in semaphores. It was originally meant to spell H-E-L-P, but it didn't make for a good composition, so instead they spelled out N-U-J-V or N-V-U-J, depending upon the UK or US version of the album.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help!#Album_cover

🟨🟨 (QQ) Double Quebec

The Yellow Jack ("Quebec") signal flag, is a plain yellow banner that was historically used to signify a vessel was, or might be, harboring a dangerous disease and needed to be quarantined (the flag represents the letter “Q”).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yellow_Jack_(flag)

🏁🧠 Vexillology

Vexillology is the study of the history, symbolism and usage of flags or, by extension, any interest in flags in general.

Watch 99% invisible host, Roman Mars's TED talk: Why city flags may be the worst-designed thing you've never noticed

https://www.ted.com/talks/roman_mars_why_city_flags_may_be_the_worst_designed_thing_you_ve_never_noticed