If England is good enough for Madonna’s birthday parties, it’s good enough for the peace sign. The symbol turns 50 this week, and to aid in the celebration BBC News has published an article detailing the history of what is commonly referred to as “the most popular symbol in the world.” 

As the report notes, it wasn’t always bell-bottoms and free love for the peace symbol. The sign actually started out as a protest logo for the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND), a British protest group, during the Cold War when England was readying programs to begin production of a hydrogen bomb.

Gerald Holtom, a former WWII conscientious objector, designed the symbol using the flag-signaling alphabet as his inspiration. He superimposed the signs for “N” and “D” (Nuclear Disarmament) over each other and the “Ban the Bomb” symbol was finally born.

Holtom and the CND reportedly never trademarked the symbol because, as it was a symbol for freedom, it should be free for all to use. And, eventually, the sign traveled across the pond when it was adopted by civil rights protesters in the U.S.

To find out more about the peace symbol’s tumultuous history and its impact, read the full article here.

Image: JMD Designs

Fashion designer Marc Ecko’s designs draw from a variety of inspirations, but there’s nothing as cool as his Black Rhino clothing articles.  After all, the Black Rhino collection is the home of the incredibly awesome Black Rhino Jason Hoodie, inspired by Jason Voorhees and the classic 80’s slasher movies in the Friday the 13th series.  […]

Throughout history, there’s been one constant.  People are going to do whatever they can to make themselves more beautiful.  Whether it’s a tattoo of an Internet superstar like Tay Zonday, a tooth tattoo, an eyeball coloration, or even an amputation disguise, there’s no shortage of ideas on what people can do to the body to […]

As lights get smaller and more powerful, you’re going to start seeing them in more and more places.  For example, check out the Galaxy Dress from CuteCircuit.  This formal-style gown made of crinoline, chiffon, 4,000 Swarovski crystals, and 24,000 LEDs is a pretty impressive combination of form and function.  Assuming you want to function as […]

Canada’s Tomb of the Unknown Soldier on Remembrance Day.
Tags: moment of silence, 11:11 on Novemeber 11, Remembrance Day, tributes, veterans

Twenty years ago today, on November 9, 1989, the Berlin Wall came down.  The wall, separating East and West Berlin, was a symbol of the Cold War between the free world and the Soviet Union.  Google has a great selection of images from Life Magazine detailing the history of the wall, and there’s also a […]

From the outside, Emma Cahill looks like your average school girl.  She just turned 16 and attends St Mary’s Convent School in Worcester, England.  She is active in sports and has many friends, but there’s one thing different about Emma.  At 6′5, she is the tallest teenage girl in the UK.
Fortunately for Emma, her unusual […]

The New York Marathon ran this weekend.  Surprisingly, the winner was an American; in fact, Eritrea-born Meb Keflezighi is the first American citizen to win the marathon since 1982 (the year after I was born).  However, with an estimated 42,000 runners in the marathon this year, not all of them are hardcore professionals.  There are […]