WEBVTT - BrainStuff Classics: Why Are Stop Signs Red?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to brain Stuff, a production of iHeartRadio. Hey Brainstuff.

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<v Speaker 1>Lauren Vogebomb here with another classic episode from the Vault.

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<v Speaker 1>In this one, we take a look at the history

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<v Speaker 1>of a common, everyday object so ubiquitous that you probably

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<v Speaker 1>don't think much about it, but that was nonetheless designed

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<v Speaker 1>to stand out. We're looking at the traffic stop sign.

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<v Speaker 1>Hey brain Stuff. I'm Lauren vogelbamb and today's question is

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<v Speaker 1>why are stop signs read? Why not green or purple?

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<v Speaker 1>Why not mango tango or tickle me pink. In the

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<v Speaker 1>early days of motor vehicles, the rules of the road

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<v Speaker 1>were let's say, there were really more what you'd call

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<v Speaker 1>guidelines than actual rules. Believe it or not, the first

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<v Speaker 1>stop signs in America were not put in place until

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<v Speaker 1>nineteen fifteen. According to historical estimates by the Federal Highway Administration,

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<v Speaker 1>in nineteen fifteen, there were already almost two point five

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<v Speaker 1>million cars driving on US roads when when those much

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<v Speaker 1>needed first stop signs finally did show up. It happened

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<v Speaker 1>in the motor capital of Detroit, Michigan. And they were

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<v Speaker 1>not the red octagons that we know and love today,

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<v Speaker 1>but white squares with black letters. Now traffic sign codes

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<v Speaker 1>throughout the twentieth century have recommended several different variations on

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<v Speaker 1>the basic design. For example, in nineteen thirty five, the

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<v Speaker 1>United States got its first official manual on Uniform Traffic

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<v Speaker 1>Controlled Devices, which said stop signs should be a yellow

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<v Speaker 1>octagon with black or red lettering. It wasn't until the

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<v Speaker 1>nineteen fifty four revision of this nineteen forty eight edition

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<v Speaker 1>of the manual that the red octagon with white letters

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<v Speaker 1>became the law of the land. According to that document,

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<v Speaker 1>the red color is consistent with the accepted use of

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<v Speaker 1>a red light as a stop signal and of the

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<v Speaker 1>color red as a special warning of danger. Furthermore, they

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<v Speaker 1>explained that the original decision to use yellow instead of

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<v Speaker 1>red was because red pigments were more likely to fade

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<v Speaker 1>over time with exposure to the elements. However, by the

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<v Speaker 1>nineteen fifties, the state of California had solved the problem

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<v Speaker 1>by using porcelain enamel to protect their precious red signs,

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<v Speaker 1>and higher durability red paints were becoming more widely available,

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<v Speaker 1>and like that, red became the new yellow. But there's

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<v Speaker 1>a question that goes deeper than uniform traffic signaling protocol.

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<v Speaker 1>Why red is there any reason to think a red

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<v Speaker 1>stop sign would work better than any other color at

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<v Speaker 1>getting drivers to stop zooming straight through intersections at eighty

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<v Speaker 1>eight miles per hour. One fairly obvious answer is that

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<v Speaker 1>red is not as likely to blend in with the

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<v Speaker 1>landscape as some other colors. This explains why the highway

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<v Speaker 1>administration has repeatedly rejected our proposal for a green and

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<v Speaker 1>brown camouflage patterned stop sign. Another important point is that,

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<v Speaker 1>like the aforementioned manual says a red is a color

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<v Speaker 1>we consistently use to identify warnings and peril a think

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<v Speaker 1>about the wrong way sign and the do not enter sign.

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<v Speaker 1>Having consistent color coding helps drivers learn to identify specific

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<v Speaker 1>colors with specific messages. So even if you only catch

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<v Speaker 1>the hint of a red sign out of the corner

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<v Speaker 1>of your eye, you're more likely to react with caution

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<v Speaker 1>the way you've been taught. There are also some behavioral

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<v Speaker 1>research findings that might point to the inherent power of

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<v Speaker 1>the color red to command our obedience. For example, a

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<v Speaker 1>twenty eleven study published in Psychological Science found that male

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<v Speaker 1>recis monkeys under test conditions were less likely to steal

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<v Speaker 1>apple slices from human experimenters who were dressed in red.

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<v Speaker 1>The monkeys didn't seem to care about the gender of

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<v Speaker 1>the human experimenter and were not deterred by green or

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<v Speaker 1>blue clothing, but a red hat and T shirt were

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<v Speaker 1>enough to make the monkeys cautious about swiping that fruit. Now,

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<v Speaker 1>it's important not to read too much into that result.

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<v Speaker 1>The study was done on monkeys who could be reacting

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<v Speaker 1>to red for all kinds of reasons, but it at

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<v Speaker 1>least suggests the possibility that there is a primate instinct

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<v Speaker 1>to associate red with dominance or authority, and if humans

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<v Speaker 1>share this hypothetical primate instinct, the difference between a red

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<v Speaker 1>stop sign and a yellow stop sign might be the

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<v Speaker 1>difference between stop and the name of the law. And hey, hey,

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<v Speaker 1>hey guys, it might be nice if you've came to

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<v Speaker 1>a halt or you know, turned off your nitro boosters.

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<v Speaker 1>Today's episode is based on a video script written by

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<v Speaker 1>Joe McCormick for the brain Stuff YouTube channel, which is

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<v Speaker 1>a thing that we used to have to hear more

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<v Speaker 1>from Joe check out his podcast Stuff to Blow your Mind.

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<v Speaker 1>Brain Stuff is production of iHeartRadio in partnership with houstuffworks

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<v Speaker 1>dot com and it is produced by Tyler Klang. Four

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<v Speaker 1>more podcasts my Heart Radio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts,

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<v Speaker 1>or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.