This was posted under the punch clock at work. I assume it’s some kind of occult symbol but that’s just a guess. Anyone know what it is or what it means?
Looks like a hodgepodge of hobo code.
Something tells me the person who drew the symbols also posted the HR notice.
Looks like it’s from a show called Yellowjackets.
You beat me to it, just from a TV show.
But I bet Nancy in HR thinks it’s satanic and is reacting as such.
Honestly, this tracks with where I work. I thought it was something cooler.
Sad reality is that this is probably the coolest likely outcome. Coin toss between regular graffiti and some nazi shit the rest of the time.
Do you know who put the signs up?
It’s a little too on the nose for the show the symbol is from.
Like, I’d believe a fan of the show made the sign, than a fan was randomly drawing the symbol and then someone made a not reacting the same way the characters in the show do.
I have no idea. I work in a large department and I don’t know who 3/4 of my coworkers are. I’ve never even seen the symbols in person, this was the first time I was made aware of them.
Yeah, the sign is likely the joke then
Never watched the show but it looks to be pretty obviously based on alchemical symbols, style-wise.
Either that, or by some strange twist of fate is a fan of that show. Either theory sounds easily plausible to me, though.
Thanks for the link, here is a quote:
Throughout the Showtime original series Yellowjackets, a strange symbol appears. It resembles an impaled female figure, with a hook coming out of the bottom. As of the end of the program’s third season, the symbol’s exact significance remains unknown.
So… Management at OP’s workplace are just making a fuss over nothing or they were really traumatized by the show? I never watched it
I mean…I didn’t watch it either, but I can’t picture a workplace where it would be considered acceptable and professional behavior to draw pictures of impaled women all over the place.
The drawings are very abstract.
Because I didn’t watch Yellowjackets as already mentioned, I don’t know if the drawing is also supposed to represent an impaled female figure at all in the show. The quote says it’s unclear, but perhaps the characters at some point establish that’s what it represents. If that’s the case, I agree with you, yeah it’s offensive and inappropriate to draw something that most people know represents impaled women with hooks up their asses.
However, personally, I have to do some intense mental gymnastics to see those scribbles as impaled women with hooks up their asses. To me they look like geometric symbols and without any context I would have thought it was something related to alchemy or astrology. Not murder.
We can only speculate about the meaning to/intent of whoever drew it. The reality is that regardless of intent or personal interpretation, if anyone in the workplace recognizes those images as having that kind of meaning and is made uncomfortable by it, that constitutes workplace harassment, whether it’s intentional or not. If the company doesn’t take it seriously, they will be liable for legal action. At least in the US - I assume most other English-speaking countries have similar laws. So it’s not really an overreaction - they need to protect themselves as much as their employees.
Whether you or I ascribe that meaning to the images or not is immaterial - clearly, someone does. Given that the images have nothing to do with work anyway, the only thing that matters is whether they genuinely bother people.
Is this Lost
From the one episode I saw - yes.
Im personally very wary of getting invested in it cause I’m afraid it will just keep upping the ante without answering anything, but my friends who have watched it said that it does seem to have a direction and does actual address things.
HR got $5 from showtime to put up flyers advertising their little show
“Stop putting this symbol everywhere”
Proceeds to put posters with the three of the symbols on it everywhereAn interesting version of the Streisand Effect.
Boston Police Department stated in its defense that the ad devices shared some similarities with improvised explosive devices
Anything can look like a bomb if you’re stupid
Never forget.
Seriously, that might have been the best guerilla marketing campaign ever. So many people were utterly clueless (and needlessly terrified), but fans of the show knew immediately what they were.
Yeah, I remember that! this is very reminiscent of that incident judging from the rest of the comments.
Well, I’m hot-blooded, check it and see I’ve got a fever of a hundred and three Come on, baby, do you do more than dance?
Carl, you are striped with radiation.
Before reading the other comments, I would have said that it’s probably a meaningless doodle, but it looks evil to people who are reflexively suspicious of anything unfamiliar.
That note under the punch clock is a hilarious overreaction, and I love it! Management isn’t just feeding the troll; they’re making the troll a full Thanksgiving dinner.
imagine having the mindset that an image has that much power over you. I still remember the Dungeon Masters manual from d&d making adults absolutely furious!
Iron Maiden cover art was pure evil energy
but you heard them actually learn what is behind those images and it’s just fuckin make believe nonsense turned up to max
Growing up in Christian Fundie Hell during the height of the Satanic Panic was certainly an experience.
My partner at the time loved Zelda: Wind Waker. They had the poster for it and all, but had blacked out with a sharpie a screenshot on it of one of the dungeons because it was called Temple of the Gods or something.
The 2000s were the height? You’re at least a decade off: https://www.aetv.com/real-crime/mcmartin-preschool and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Day-care_sex-abuse_hysteria and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Satanic_panic
I personally remember my brother being forced to destroy his gold cartridge Ocarina of Time when my mother heard/thought it was pagan witchcraft. She watched him do it and claimed she saw green fire/smoke blaze up from it and claimed that it was the devil that had been inside. So that was the later 90s, I guess.
You forget that the Midwest is always a few years behind, and that goes double for the heavily rural Midwest 😉
What’s more, the height of the moment was more of a plateau than a peak.
Would be hard to resist drawing the symbol on the flyer.
They already did thrice.
That’s the symbol from Yellowjackets. If you are curious about the show, only the first season is good
That’s being kind. 🥲
It could have been really good though
Pretty on-brand for this timeline, though. 🤷🏼♂️
Damn, thank you! I’ve been curious about this show for ages and it’s good to get some indication as to where to start and stop. Anyone else want to chime in with opinions on this? I’d love to hear thoughts on it before I spend any time watching
Christina Ricci.
Seconded. Really, I thought all of the casting was really well done.
Sold!
I’ll step in with a dif perspective. I enjoyed all seasons so far. Shit does get wild and there are Def some out of pocket decisions that were made that makes the show a bit campy at times, but I’m down for it and enjoyed the journey. I can see where the “only first season is good” crowd is coming from, but I don’t regret sticking with it. Carbon monoxide is a bitch.
I thoroughly enjoyed the first season. Part of the fun was the mystery, which is why I don’t think the second season was as good. The show tried too hard to explain and it got a little bit too mired down in its own metaphysics for my taste.
I’m not sure I’ll watch any more of it.
No one has replied that you’re wrong so have an upvote!
I’m generally highly suspicious of any picture of a piece of paper with writing on it posted on social media.
Looks like something from Gravity Falls
Just finished watching the last episode of Weidmageddon about 30 minutes ago and instantly had the same thought… Obviously that Bill Cipher right there!
Came here to say this too
lol reminds me of one of these from the ars goetia
Imagine thinking that someone wrote “don’t give up” when they meant to write “hobos arrested on sight”.
This is Dark Souls all over again… Though I wouldn’t mind a game using these (or similar) icons instead of messages in text form.
Unicode addition when?
Hobo code was my first thought too, but doesn’t seem to match any.
Might be a combo and hobo code was also regional, this is just a sample.
The “hook” on the YellowJackets symbol appears to be “Stop” from the top panel, left column, 4th one down.
It makes me wonder the origin of the 2/10 symbol for thieves is.
Keep your 2 eyes on everyone’s 10 fingers
My first thought was a self-made sigil, it even has a clue as to the creator in it.
But I’m not a narc, so if their HR is watching they can get fucked.
They have a lot of circuit patterns in there.
WTF did I just read.
looks like someone is going through a power trip flair up over not being able to catch a benign prankster
Over a nonsense symbol?! People are just pathetic sometimes.
Lol I thought it was some SCP stuff before I read comments.
I thought it’s from Harry Potter, these three artifacts from the latter books.
Triangle
Circle
LineIn retrospect even the ultimate macguffins were really simplistic in those books.
Yellowjackets has broken containment?
If you were actually “escalated to HR” for this and terminated, wouldn’t you have a pretty strong wrongful termination case?
I don’t think so. If your boss tells you to cut it out and you don’t cut it out, that’s firing for cause. You might think it’s a first amendment thing, but that only protects you from the government telling you to cut it out
hanging up one paper sheet somewhere is not considered informing your personnell in a legal way, they could always argue to have never seen this paper
They could probably send out a mass email, and make an announcement in meetings that “unauthorized symbol drawings” are not allowed. Then they would be covered.
I mean if it was on a bulletin board in the corner of the break room you’d have a point, but this is right next to the punch clock with a big red ATTENTION written on it. Even if you assume there was no mass email or meeting about it, I’d say this qualifies as informing your employees
In most first world countries? Sure (even though it isn’t what it used to be, but it would still be a nicer severance than expected if you’re ready to spend a lot of money in legal fee or have an union providing you a lawyer).
But I guess that in the US not thanking your boss for letting you work is a valid reason to get fired
