Skull and crossbones
A
skull and crossbones is a
symbol consisting of a human
skull and two bones crossed together under the skull. It is generally used as a warning for something that is dangerous or deadly, usually
poison.
The symbol, or some variation thereof, was also featured on the
Jolly Roger, the traditional
flag of
European and
American pirates. It is also used by the
Skull and Bones, a
secret society at
Yale University.
History of the symbol
In 1829 New York State required the labeling of all containers of poisonous substances. The skull and crossbones symbol appears to have been used for that purpose since the 1850s. Previously a variety of motifs had been used, including the Danish "+ + +" and drawings of skeletons.
In the 1870s Americans began using bright cobalt blue bottles with a variety of raised bumps and designs to indicate poison, but by the 1880s the skull and cross bones became ubiquitous, and the brightly coloured bottles lost their association.
Uses
Today, the skull and crossbones is still the only standard symbol for poison. It is however less common outside industrial usage than it once was. Apart from its negative marketing effect on environmentally conscious consumers, it may actually attract children due to its association with pirates, a popular toy and play theme. For this reason, there has been a proposal to replace the skull and crossbones by the hopefully more meaningful "Mr. Yuk" symbol.
In Unicode, the "skull and crossbones" symbol is U+2620 (☠).
See also
\n*Totenkopf — "Death's Head" insignia of German elite military units.\n*Mr. Yuk
External links
\n*A variety of pirate flags\n*Promoting skull and crossbones on poisons
Category:Symbols
