13 Everyday Symbols You Didn’t Know The Meaning Of
13.
BlueTooth Symbol- Even if you don’t turn on the Bluetooth feature on your electronic
device, you know what it is but where did it actually come from and how did it get its
name?
While most people think the symbol looks like the letter “B,” the sign goes all the
way back to ancient history.
Bluetooth designers took this symbol from Norse mythology.
It is a combined rune, and it made up of two separate runes.
The first is H, which means Hago and the second is B, which stands for Biogen.
Put them together and voila!
But why the initials H and B?
Well, its initials stand for Harald Bluetooth who is a Danish king that reunited several
tribes back during his reign.
And the Bluetooth symbol does exactly that; it connects people just how King Bluetooth
did.
I know what you’re thinking, mind blown!
12.
The Star of Life- Best known as the medical symbol, they are mainly found on emergency
vehicles.
It contains a snake emblem which is the Rod of Asclepius who is a Greek figure in mythology
that has healing powers.
It is a six-pointed, blue star with six branches.
Each branch represents a primary task that is followed by rescuers through a routine.
The first is detection.
When a first respondent appears on the scene, they identify the problem and the dangers
to ensure their safety.
The next is reporting, and they dispatch emergency medical help.
The third step is the rescuer’s response and how they provide the care.
The fourth is the care they give, and the fifth is the care executed while the patient
is en route to a hospital.
The last branch stands for the proper care given at the hospital.
11.
Eye of Providence- Widely recognized on the dollar bill, many people have accumulated
several conspiracy theories as to what it means.
It has been linked to the Illuminati, Freemasonry and the occult.
If you look at the symbol closely, you’ll see light rays emitting from the eye.
This symbol actually represents the eye of God and a reminder that he is watching over
man.
In modern society, the eye represents the Great Seal of America which is a way to authenticate
government documents and currency.
10.
Apple Mac Command Key- If you own a Mac, you identify this symbol as a command key.
But it wasn’t always that way.
This command symbol actually came late in the Macintosh development.
Steve Jobs originally had an Apple logo on the menu but felt this was too cliche.
It wasn’t until a few days before the deadline that bitmap artist Susan Kare picked this
symbol out of a symbol dictionary.
The symbol was commonly used in Nordic places and is the official road signs for many countries
like Finland and Denmark.
The Apple team took an immediate liking to it, and it became the official command symbol
for Macs starting in 1984
9.
Peace Sign Hand Symbol- In the United States, throwing up your index and middle fingers
while the rest are balled up represents a v-sign.
In the counterculture of the 1960’s, the v-sign became a symbol of peace.
It has been adopted in many movements like during the rise of hippies, women’s rights
and psychoactive drug experimentation.
It is a hand gesture widely used in society but has different meaning among many other
cultures.
In fact, positioning the peace sign with the back of your hand facing a person means that
you just insulted them, which is the equivalent of flipping them off.
This gesture is called the finger, or two fingered salute in the United Kingdom and
Australia.
So wherever you are in the world, just make sure not to offend anybody.
8.
Four Leaf Clover- Ah it’s the luck of the Irish!
Many people would be ecstatic if they ever found a four leaf clover.
It’s no secret that many people associate this symbol with luck, but not many people
know that each leaf symbolizes its own meaning.
The first leaf represents faith; the second means hope, the third leaf means to love,
and the last leaf means luck.
It is disputed that the first leaf means fame and is used as a form of protection from evil
in some cultures.
But its symbolism has been tried all the way back to the Middle Ages.
7.
The Heart- Anywhere from candy to jewelry, most of us know the heart symbol is a general
meaning of love.
Tracing the heart all the way to its origins, it was first identified on Roman coins.
But looking closely, it doesn’t resemble the heart we know of today.
It’s actually a silphium seed and was valuable to Romans and used as a form of birth control.
With the heart shape being such an integral part of everyday life, it’s hard to believe
that it’s connected to love at all.
Its association with sex and love eventually grew over time.
6.
The Jesus Fish- Found on the back of cars, it was a very traditional symbol that was
turned into a popular bumper sticker in the past years.
Many people of the Christian faith have used this to depict Jesus as a fisher of men.
In ancient times, Christians would be killed if they were found to practicing their religion,
so the Jesus fish was used a symbol to identify each other.
One man would draw the first arch, and another man would draw the second arc.
Its real meaning is that it is widely associated with Norse god Freyja that represents a woman’s
genitalia that symbolized fertility.
5.
Pentagram- Seen in many horror flicks, crime dramas, and thriller, most would associate
the pentagram with black magic and the occult.
However, contrary to popular belief it doesn’t contain any inherent power at all.
In fact, the symbol has been used in many various cultures across the world, including
Christianity!
The five-pointed star symbolizes the five elements in ancient Chinese and Japanese religions
and in ancient Babylonian times, it was a sign that represents many different gods.
It wasn’t linked to any occult practices until the mid-1800 were when a researcher
claimed when flipped upside down it symbolizes evil placing chaos in the spirit world.
4.
Female and Male Symbols- Every knows that each of these symbolizes one’s gender, but
a few people actually know its true meaning.
These symbols can be linked to alchemy, which is an ancient practice of mystical science
that involved astrology and chemistry.
The male sign with the arrow stood for Mars, and in earlier depictions, it had a dot in
the center which represented the sun.
On the other hand, the female sign with the cross was inspired by a necklace or a mirror.
Chalkos was its astrological symbol that signifies Venus, who is a powerful goddess in Greek
culture.
It is now widely used in biology, sociology, politics and the LGBT community.
3.
Barber’s Poles- When most of us see this sign, we know that place is a barber shop.
Going all the way back to the Middle Ages, it is a pole containing red and white stripes,
but usually red, white and blue in America.
The colored poles represented a time when barbers perform medical bloodletting procedures
to those who were sick.
Known as barber-surgeons in ancient times, they performed many operations that including,
cupping, enemas, leeching, and teeth extractions.
The red symbolizes blood while the white symbolized bandages.
It’s hard to believe now that a barber would execute all those procedures and not even
cut hair!
In some areas of Asia, the barber’s pole is actually a symbol for a brothel.
Even though prostitution is widely illegal, the pole is used in a subtle way to avoid
police intervention.
However in South Korea, barber poles are used for both brothels and barber shops, so be
sure to know which store you’re walking into!
2.
Biohazard Symbol- Many of us recognize the biohazard symbol as an international sign
used as a warning around harsh substances and chemicals.
However, in recent years, the biohazard symbol has been used by the gay community as a way
to display they are infected or have Aids.
Members of the gay community have bore this symbol as a tattoo to raise awareness.
Instead of being used in a negative way, it reduces stigma and reminds society of how
living with HIV or aids have a profound effect on life.
They do not believe that this makes them victims but shapes the symbol to show that they are
survivors of this life-threatening disease.
1.
Gammadion Cross- It is a religious symbol that hailed from South Asia.
While many people associate this symbol with hate, it is known to be an ancient sacred
symbol in Buddhism and Hinduism and originated at least 11,000 years ago.
It is an important symbol in Indian religions as it represents fortune and promising ventures.
In Hinduism, the symbol is worn on the body or head during festivals and religious rites.
It is used as a lucky charm to protect those from evil harm and attracts good instead.
The symbol has also been traced back to many other cultures dating as far as 10,000 BCE
and has been identified in the Bronze and Iron Age times.