Knowledge tidbit for the day

I was reading this article in the NY Times today at lunch about a couple in a town SW of Denver who inadvertently created a stir in their town and now their nation by hanging this wreath shaped like a peace sign. Apparently their HOA board tried to fine them $25/day for displaying what they thought was either a "politically divisive" symbol, or a "sign of the devil," which was one misguided HOA board member's interpretation. Wow.

As it turns out, the peace sign is not a secret Beelzebub calling card, but in fact the logo for the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, a self-explanatorily titled group started in the '60s. The symbol is derived from the semaphore (a communication method using visual signals from hand-held flags or towers with rotating blades, scroll down for the symbol legend) characters for "N" and "D" inscribed in a circle.



So, here's to peace this holiday season, and hopefully you learned something as I did about a symbol you probably have seen thousands of times before, maybe not knowing its origins. And yes, I'm aware that self-explanatorily isn't a word.