Latest news with #symbol
CBC
13 hours ago
- General
- CBC
Search for B.C.'s Best Symbol: Round 1 — Nature
The geography and natural beauty of British Columbia have always sparked the imagination of people who have moved here — right down to one of its first colonial symbols. "Long before the Maple Leaf was an official emblem in Eastern Canada, B.C. had an evergreen tree ... being used on an official symbol," said Forrest Pass, a curator at Library and Archives Canada. The symbol in question was the Great Seal of Vancouver Island, and the part of a tree depicted was a pinecone, reflecting the many evergreen trees in the region. "Local flora and fauna, I think those symbols become more meaningful because they are aspects of people's everyday life. They're aspects of people's memories," said Pass. From trees to mountains, rivers to fruits, the unique natural aspects of British Columbia have long been powerful symbols of this province. But which one is the best? 64 Symbols, 1 Winner It's day two of the Search for B.C.'s Best Symbol, a friendly vote to determine which iconic thing in this province represents us best. Voting will take place over several weeks. A series of one-on-one matchups will narrow the number of symbols from 64 to 32, 32 to 16, and eventually down to one champion: Animals (voting takes place on Mondays). Nature (voting takes place on Tuesdays). Coastal (voting takes place on Wednesdays). Provincial (voting takes place on Thursdays). WATCH | Here's how it works: After more than 50,000 votes on Day 1 in the animal section, today we look at symbols in nature — including three evergreen trees in the Sitka Spruce, Douglas Fir, and Red Cedar (with the Arbutus tree rounding out our tree quadrant). Pass says that while the vote may be an unscientific competition, it's also a unique opportunity to see what symbols resonate the most for people in this province. "As a historian, it's often difficult to tell how much particular symbols do resonate," he said. "When we do have these opportunities to see what the public thinks about symbols and see which ones do resonate, it becomes really interesting data for a future historian to look at it in 2025, and see what symbolized British Columbia to British Columbians." Voting is open until 10 p.m. Pacific time on Tuesday. Happy voting!
Daily Mail
a day ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
The tiny hidden symbol on every dollar bill... but no one knows what it is
There is a strange little symbol hiding on every dollar bill, and no one can agree on what it is. Some say it's a spider. Others insist it's an owl. And for conspiracy theorists, it's a symbol tied to secret societies like the Freemasons or the Illuminati. The tiny shape, smaller than a grain of rice, sits just above the large '1' in the top right corner on the front of the bill. At first glance, it looks like a speck of ink. But under a magnifying glass, it appears to have a round head and small limbs. It's been there for nearly a century, but the US Treasury has never explained what it is, or why it was included. There's no official record, no designer has claimed it, and no known purpose has ever been published. Currency experts say it's likely just part of the guilloche, the swirling, decorative pattern printed across the bill to prevent counterfeiting. But the shape near the '1' is slightly different from the others. It appears partially enclosed, making it stand out from the rest. But without a definitive answer, theories have flourished online. 'I hear it's Moloch, the owl god worshipped at Bohemian Grove,' one Reddit user joked. 'It must be true.' Another said, 'I was told it was a spider when I was young, long before I had internet access.' One person even wrote, 'That's an owl. It's a Freemason symbol.' Ralph Benko, chairman of The Capitalist League and an expert on currency history, said: 'The unknown engraver who designed the dollar bill took the secret, if there is one, to his grave. I fancy it as a tiny owl.' Financial websites like Sunmark Credit Union have also listed it among the dollar's many 'hidden details,' describing it as either an owl or a spider. Meanwhile, YouTubers and amateur sleuths have dissected the mark in videos, comparing it to similar flourishes on the bill, but nothing else quite matches the odd little blob near the '1'. Legally, the $1 bill's design hasn't changed since the 1920s, and by law, it can't be updated, meaning that mark has quietly passed from wallet to wallet, generation after generation, for nearly 100 years. Some tie the mystery to other well-known symbols on the bill, like the pyramid and all-seeing eye, both long associated with Masonic symbolism and secret codes. But there's no historical evidence linking the tiny figure to any society, just whispers and wild guesses. The psychological phenomenon at play is called pareidolia, when the brain sees familiar patterns, especially faces, in random images. It's the same reason people spot Jesus in toast or see faces on Mars. This trick is called pareidolia, a psychological phenomenon where your brain tries to make sense of chaos by forcing familiar patterns onto it, especially faces. It is not a glitch. It is actually your brain working. Humans evolved to be hyper-aware of faces, because spotting them quickly helped with survival, whether it was recognizing a threat, an ally, or a potential mate. The design of the $1 note has not changed since the 1920s, and legally, it can not be redesigned under current law. That means this strange mark has been sitting on every bill for nearly a century, passed down through wallets and pockets, whispered about in classrooms, and dissected in Reddit threads and YouTube videos. Some tie the shape to older, more established dollar bill conspiracies. The pyramid and all-seeing eye on the back of the bill are well-documented symbols with Masonic origins, and their placement has long fueled speculation about secret codes or hidden meanings. But there is no historical evidence linking the tiny front-side figure to any known society. Still, online, the theories keep growing. 'Looks like a baby kraken to me,' joked one Reddit user. Another claimed, 'That's the spider who spun the webs. Dad showed me as a child.' One even said, 'It's Jesus Christ watching you throw it at somebody's daughter.' Other guesses include Mothman, Cthulhu, or a miniature chupacabra. The list of theories is endless, but no one actually knows what it is. What is confirmed: the mark is not a printing error. It is not random damage. It is in the same exact spot on every single $1 bill, part of the original design approved by the Bureau of Engraving and Printing nearly a century ago. It is part of the original design, which was finalized by the Bureau of Engraving and Printing nearly a century ago and no designer ever publicly claimed the element or explained its purpose.
CBC
2 days ago
- General
- CBC
Search for B.C.'s Best Symbol: Round 1, Animals
Sixty-four iconic provincial symbols. Five weeks of voting. One winner. The start of the Search for B.C.'s Best Symbol begins today — and it's up to you to vote for which animals will advance.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Symbols give insight into who we are and what we value: experts
As CBC prepares to launch a contest to find the quintessential symbol that defines British Columbia, culture and history experts say much can be learned by digging into a symbol's origins and meaning. The bracket for B.C.'s Best Symbol starts on Monday, and will run for several weeks, with voting open online from Mondays to Thursdays. One final symbol will be announced as the winner at the end. A symbol, defined as a thing that represents or stands for something else, can give us insight into how we see ourselves and our communities — past, present and future, say experts. Michael Dawson, history professor at St. Thomas University and co-editor of the book Symbols in Canada, said symbols are formed in a variety of ways: some are officially proclaimed by governments, like flags and national sports, while others are more natural. "The ones that are probably the most popular, that are closest to people's hearts, are the ones that emerge more organically," Dawson national symbols can be a way to bond and connect. "They're a way of reaffirming shared experiences, potentially even shared values, shared perspectives," Dawson said. Some categories of symbols, like food (such as Nanaimo bars or maple syrup), animals (bears, salmon, beavers) and local commercial items (White Spot's pirate pack), frequently become representative of communities around the province, he said. But symbols can also create divisions. "Hockey is something that tends to bring people together at a national level. It's also something that can push people apart at a regional level," Dawson said. "You're either a Flames fan or an Oilers fan. You're not both." Marketing and advertising play a big role in deciding which symbols proliferate and last, he said. Dawson outlined how late 19th century tourism promoters in Vancouver and Victoria explicitly downplayed Indigenous culture and instead focused on the cities' connection to "Britishness." But when the Great Depression hit, shopkeepers needed a way to make more money. As a result, Dawson said, businesses in the 1930s began to increasingly incorporate elements of Indigenous culture in advertising, such as totem poles. The businesses and their marketers wanted to promote images of supposed mysticism and exoticism to differentiate B.C. and attract tourists. Dawson said the creation of this kind of advertising became a process of "selectively remembering, selectively celebrating" aspects of British and Indigenous cultures — "but making sure to never show that they were in conflict." "Tourism is there in the 1950s, 1960s, right through to the present day, helping people to reimagine and forget [and] come up with a highly selective representation of that colonial imperial process so that it actually becomes hard to have a conversation about British Columbia being the product of colonization," he said. Jordan Wilson, curator for Pacific Northwest and contemporary Indigenous art at the University of British Columbia's Museum of Anthropology, traced part of the history of how Pacific Northwest art became seemingly synonymous with Canadian Indigenous art back to a prominent exhibition in 1927. The National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa's show "Exhibition of Canadian West Coast Art: Native and Modern" was essentially the first time Indigenous material culture from the Pacific Northwest was presented as art and shown alongside paintings from the Group of Seven, Wilson said. But much of the context was stripped from the Indigenous art and items on display. "Visitors to that exhibition would not really have gained a sense of where these objects came from, what their use was, who they belonged to," said Wilson, who is a member of Musqueam Indian Band. "They were really presented as beautiful objects." There was a friction created by cultural gatekeepers "celebrating" Indigenous art and items while the Canadian government sought to oppress Indigenous people. "[The exhibition was] really trying to position Indigenous art or material culture as Canadian art, while at the same time residential schools are in full effect, the potlatch ban is in full effect, and there's this broad dispossession happening of Indigenous lands and resources." For example, the potlatch ban, which ran from 1885 to 1951, outlawed the ceremonial use of some of the same items that were displayed in the 1927 gallery show. "To put [it] in sort of crude terms ... you want our art, but you don't want our politics," Wilson said. Dawson said understanding the complex histories behind symbols can lead to better understanding of our neighbours at home and abroad. Symbols also have the power to influence how people think, he said. "People invest something of themselves in these things," he News gave Dawson an early peek of which symbols will faceoff against eachother in the contest. One particular bracket match-up caught his attention: treehuggers versus logging trucks. "There are folks that would be like, 'Absolutely, I identify with the tree-huggers, let's go!' And others that are like, 'No, no, the more logging trucks I see on the road, the happier I am." Digging deeper into the histories behind each symbol is meaningful, Dawson said. "It's important to think about these symbols, to become familiar with their histories [and] differing contemporary understandings that people have ... it allows us to maintain, I think, a higher level of political discourse than we might otherwise have."
CBC
3 days ago
- Sport
- CBC
Symbols give insight into who we are and what we value: experts
As CBC prepares to launch a contest to find the quintessential symbol that defines British Columbia, culture and history experts say much can be learned by digging into a symbol's origins and meaning. The bracket for B.C.'s Best Symbol starts on Monday, and will run for several weeks, with voting open online from Mondays to Thursdays. One final symbol will be announced as the winner at the end. A symbol, defined as a thing that represents or stands for something else, can give us insight into how we see ourselves and our communities — past, present and future, say experts. Michael Dawson, history professor at St. Thomas University and co-editor of the book Symbols in Canada, said symbols are formed in a variety of ways: some are officially proclaimed by governments, like flags and national sports, while others are more natural. "The ones that are probably the most popular, that are closest to people's hearts, are the ones that emerge more organically," Dawson said. WATCH | The Search for B.C.'s Best Symbol: What is British Columbia's most iconic symbol 1 day ago Duration 2:53 Meanwhile, national symbols can be a way to bond and connect. "They're a way of reaffirming shared experiences, potentially even shared values, shared perspectives," Dawson said. Some categories of symbols, like food (such as Nanaimo bars or maple syrup), animals (bears, salmon, beavers) and local commercial items (White Spot's pirate pack), frequently become representative of communities around the province, he said. But symbols can also create divisions. "Hockey is something that tends to bring people together at a national level. It's also something that can push people apart at a regional level," Dawson said. "You're either a Flames fan or an Oilers fan. You're not both." Marketing and advertising play a big role in deciding which symbols proliferate and last, he said. Dawson outlined how late 19th century tourism promoters in Vancouver and Victoria explicitly downplayed Indigenous culture and instead focused on the cities' connection to "Britishness." But when the Great Depression hit, shopkeepers needed a way to make more money. As a result, Dawson said, businesses in the 1930s began to increasingly incorporate elements of Indigenous culture in advertising, such as totem poles. The businesses and their marketers wanted to promote images of supposed mysticism and exoticism to differentiate B.C. and attract tourists. Dawson said the creation of this kind of advertising became a process of "selectively remembering, selectively celebrating" aspects of British and Indigenous cultures — "but making sure to never show that they were in conflict." "Tourism is there in the 1950s, 1960s, right through to the present day, helping people to reimagine and forget [and] come up with a highly selective representation of that colonial imperial process so that it actually becomes hard to have a conversation about British Columbia being the product of colonization," he said. Indigenous symbols and contexts Jordan Wilson, curator for Pacific Northwest and contemporary Indigenous art at the University of British Columbia's Museum of Anthropology, traced part of the history of how Pacific Northwest art became seemingly synonymous with Canadian Indigenous art back to a prominent exhibition in 1927. The National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa's show "Exhibition of Canadian West Coast Art: Native and Modern" was essentially the first time Indigenous material culture from the Pacific Northwest was presented as art and shown alongside paintings from the Group of Seven, Wilson said. But much of the context was stripped from the Indigenous art and items on display. "Visitors to that exhibition would not really have gained a sense of where these objects came from, what their use was, who they belonged to," said Wilson, who is a member of Musqueam Indian Band. "They were really presented as beautiful objects." There was a friction created by cultural gatekeepers "celebrating" Indigenous art and items while the Canadian government sought to oppress Indigenous people. "[The exhibition was] really trying to position Indigenous art or material culture as Canadian art, while at the same time residential schools are in full effect, the potlatch ban is in full effect, and there's this broad dispossession happening of Indigenous lands and resources." For example, the potlatch ban, which ran from 1885 to 1951, outlawed the ceremonial use of some of the same items that were displayed in the 1927 gallery show. "To put [it] in sort of crude terms ... you want our art, but you don't want our politics," Wilson said. Symbols as identity Dawson said understanding the complex histories behind symbols can lead to better understanding of our neighbours at home and abroad. Symbols also have the power to influence how people think, he said. "People invest something of themselves in these things," he said. CBC News gave Dawson an early peek of which symbols will faceoff against eachother in the contest. One particular bracket match-up caught his attention: treehuggers versus logging trucks. "There are folks that would be like, 'Absolutely, I identify with the tree-huggers, let's go!' And others that are like, 'No, no, the more logging trucks I see on the road, the happier I am." Digging deeper into the histories behind each symbol is meaningful, Dawson said. "It's important to think about these symbols, to become familiar with their histories [and] differing contemporary understandings that people have ... it allows us to maintain, I think, a higher level of political discourse than we might otherwise have."
