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TIL barbers in the 1800s used to advertise with a pole outside because most people couldn't read. Found that in a random history book at my local library.
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allen.iris14d ago
Wait, have you ever walked into a hardware store and spent like 20 minutes trying to find the right screw? I swear half the signs are just pictures now and I still end up grabbing the wrong thing. It's funny how we rely on symbols and pictures so much even today - like how a picture of a wrench over a shelf is supposed to tell me that's where the plumbing stuff is. I guess we're not that different from those old time people, just staring at sticks and stripes trying to figure out what they mean. Makes you wonder how many "signs" we walk past every day that might as well be gibberish to us.
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emmam892mo ago
How many signs would I have missed back then? I can barely read the menu at a new coffee shop now.
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