After many years of research around the world, the International Atomic Energy Agency has revealed the new global warning for ionizing radiation: a terrifying scene of an alien spaceship shooting death rays at a pirate flag and stick figure.
Learn about the terrible fate of mankind, after the jump.
The message of the new logo is clear: Do not trust the space monsters.
It’s also supposed to mean “stay away from this harmful radiation source,” because interviews with people killed by radiation showed that they didn’t really know what the traditional radioactive warning sign actually meant. Also, radioactive crap will still be radioactive thousands of years from now, so the logos need to still make sense to the cavemen of the future.
But will this combination of a skull & bones, that same old radiation logo, little wiggly lines and the universal “fire escape” symbol actually convey the message to people or robots of the future? Probably not!
The reason? Death and danger symbols have always been used by people burying treasure — whether Caribbean pirates, the Knights Templar or kids digging holes in the backyard. The skull & crossbones is basically the universal code for “something awesome is in here.” So the doomed people of the future (if there are any) will see this on the side of a rusting X-Ray machine or Yucca Mountain or whatever and say to themselves in the new telepathic language, “It’s the hidden treasure!”
New Symbol Launched to Warn Public About Radiation Dangers [IAEA]
Earlier: Proud Symbol of Fear Replaced by Wuss Logo
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This is right up there with the “brand sparkling new EM” logo which is replacing the good old scary “CD in a triangle” icon for where to go when Vladimir Putin decides he’s got enough brand new Topol ICBMs to take us out.
As a technical writer AND a certified radiological monitor (back in the era of the continual name changes, when FEMA was the Defense Civil Preparedness Agency), I’d have to say that the cure for ignorance about what “radiation” and the “purple trefoil” mean is EDUCATION, not weirder warning symbols.
One or two nice instructional videos showing a kid dicking around with something with the purple trefoil on it, then fade, dissolve, and cut to the same kid crapping his guts out, vomiting and very obviously dying should do it. No soundtrack or subtitles needed. Just broadcast on TV, drop leaflets with the pictures, whatever.
As a resident of one of the states in closer proximity to Mexico than is probably good for us, I know for a fact that Mexicans, Brazilians and other -ans have this nasty habit of swiping radioactive materials from hospitals, steel yards and other places, crow-barring the contents out of their thick lead containers, and doing weird shit with it. Daubing it all over their bodies in the case of the Goiania incident in Brazil (you see, Cobalt-60 glows nicely, so the kids who visited Uncle Joao when he brought some home in the back of his truck thought it was just more cool glow-in-the-dark paint). Several kids died, as did one or two of their parents.
Is it just me, or are those kids going to think, “Hey, cool!” when they see the IAEA’s new fun sticker? Better forget about the new sign and educate everyone who doesn’t know that playing with anything with a purple trefoil on it is a one-way ticket on the meat wagon.
By the way, the link back to “Proud Symbol of Fear Replaced by Wuss Logo” is 404. You may want to tell your Internet folks about it.
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