Signs and Wonders: 50 Intriguing Symbolism and Facts to Astonish You

Prior to the Nazis' Western adoption of the Swastika, it was utilized by numerous entities, including Rudyard Kipling, the 45th Infantry Division of the United States Army, Carlsberg Group, the Finnish Air Force, Boy Scouts in Britain, The Royal Air Force's 273 Squadron, the Arizona Department of Transportation, and many others.

The Egyptian fertility god Min, symbolized by lettuce and the bull, was often depicted with an erect penis. Among ancient Egyptians, lettuce was considered an aphrodisiac.

The hashtag on a telephone is referred to as an 'octothorpe,' while the asterisk is known as a 'sextile.'

The infinity symbol is sometimes called the lemniscate. It gained a mathematical meaning in 1655 through John Wallis and appears in the Latin Cross and certain tarot cards.

The recycling symbol ♻️, designed by college student Gary Anderson in a 1970 contest, forms a Möbius strip with three arrows in a triangular loop. Due to its unregulated nature, it's often mistakenly printed on non-recyclables like Styrofoam.

The push to replace the skull and crossbones as the international poison symbol stems from its association with pirates, causing some children to no longer perceive it as a warning. A proposed alternative is "Mr. Yuk."

The play symbol ▶️ originally indicated the direction the tape traveled after pressing the VCR play button.

The pound sign £ is a stylized "L," originating from the Latin "libra pondo," a Roman unit of weight. "Pound sterling" is its name due to its original definition as the value of a pound of sterling silver.

The Stop Sign was introduced in 1915 in Detroit, Michigan. In 1954, the white-on-red design was standardized; it had previously appeared in black or red on a yellow background.

The bald eagle's role as a national symbol relates to its 1782 appearance on the Great Seal of the US. Charles Thomson synthesized elements from various designs, recommending the American bald eagle in place of the small, white eagle from William Barton's design.