6 Items Tagged

Symbols

The use of the letter x as a mathematical unknown is a relatively modern convention. Algebra has been around for a lot longer.

Why Is 'X' Such a Big Deal?

From Twitter's rebranding to algebra, this single letter has an uncommon amount of...X factor. A historian of mathematics gets to the root of it.

Peter Schumer August 4, 2023

Until the 1990s, when billboards were banned in Spain, these bulls were painted with the name of Veterano Osborne brandy. The company removed the words and successfully fought to have the enormous bulls considered art.

How These Bull-Shaped Billboards Became Spanish Icons

Once an advertisement for brandy, the Osborne bull is now a symbol of the country.

Ignacio Amigo May 10, 2023

Inukshuk

Vancouver, British Columbia

'Inukshuk'

Made of granite, this is a symbol of the Inuit peoples near water that expresses abundance.

Centennial Rock with the carvings "E Suydam 1876 M Danbury Centennial Year." Followed by the mysterious cypher. Unfortunately, weathering and possible vandalism has made much of the carving illegible. Early images of the carving in a better state of preservation can be viewed here: https://weirdnj.com/stories/cryptic-carvings-along-lawrence-brook/

New Brunswick, New Jersey

Lawrence Brook Carvings

A mixture of strange symbols, ciphers, words and cryptograms carved in 1876 remain unsolved to this day.

Rotterdam, Netherlands

'De Bospoldervos'

A massive stone fox oversees a Rotterdam elementary school crosswalk.

Barcelona, Spain

Inquisition's Blazon

On the wall of this medieval square, a symbol of the Spanish Inquisition.