Hacker Newsnew | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submitlogin

The first traffic lights were imported to Japan from the US in 1930, and had "subtitles" written on them because people had a hard time understanding what the colors meant*.

Something I find entertaining about the stock colors is that the idioms "in the red" and "in the black" mean the same thing in Japanese as in English.

* https://www.pref.hiroshima.lg.jp/uploaded/image/24705.gif



Also stop signs were originally yellow, not red, which would add to the confusion.




Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact

Search: