Patterico's Pontifications

7/25/2014

Answer Meee These Questions, Uh, Two

Filed under: General — Patterico @ 7:08 am



1) What color is a yield sign?

2) How old are you?

Don’t look at anyone else’s answer until you have formulated your own answer in your head, and left it in the comments. You needn’t answer #2 if it’s too personal.

57 Responses to “Answer Meee These Questions, Uh, Two”

  1. But it’s more interesting if you do.

    I tried this on Twitter and Facebook and an interesting pattern emerges.

    Patterico (9c670f) — 7/25/2014 @ 7:08 am

  2. I said yellow and black when first asked. I am 45, for a few more days anyway.

    Patterico (9c670f) — 7/25/2014 @ 7:10 am

  3. red triangle with white inside
    44

    carlitos (c24ed5) — 7/25/2014 @ 7:11 am

  4. Yellow. I am 75

    Bar Sinister (b48c12) — 7/25/2014 @ 7:14 am

  5. yellow
    55

    Is it different in different states??

    MD in Philly (from a different computer and location) (cb7b6d) — 7/25/2014 @ 7:15 am

  6. FWIW, I would (and did) say the sign is yellow (with black writing on it)

    MD in Philly (from a different computer and location) (cb7b6d) — 7/25/2014 @ 7:16 am

  7. White with a red border. I am 54

    Chuck Bartowski (11fb31) — 7/25/2014 @ 7:17 am

  8. there are signs on the roads that give instructions?

    who knew….

    (Resident Evil says i’m still in my terrible twos. i say she’s a poopy head. %-)

    redc1c4 (abd49e) — 7/25/2014 @ 7:17 am

  9. Yield sign is yellow. I’m 70 (that’s my age, not my preferred speed. Hey, you’re behind a geezer in the fast lane. Get over it.)

    Skeptical Voter (12e67d) — 7/25/2014 @ 7:21 am

  10. Yellow, and on the wrong side of retirement age.

    ropelight (f693dc) — 7/25/2014 @ 7:24 am

  11. From the wiki:
    In 1972, the sign evolved into its modern version and changed from yellow to red.

    Thomas (3e3fee) — 7/25/2014 @ 7:27 am

  12. Yellow 29

    Burnside (8fa39f) — 7/25/2014 @ 7:29 am

  13. white and red – 36

    NJRob (5da6c8) — 7/25/2014 @ 7:36 am

  14. As I said on FB, (a) yellow and (b) 40.

    aphrael (98d2d0) — 7/25/2014 @ 7:55 am

  15. Initially, I thought yellow. It used to be. But it’s now a white field framed by red, with red letters, IIRC.
    56

    Diffus (48ae73) — 7/25/2014 @ 7:58 am

  16. It used to be black on yellow, but now it’s red on white. 58.

    nk (dbc370) — 7/25/2014 @ 8:07 am

  17. I’ll take a guess at your pattern. I haven’t checked your references. I picture the places I know have yield signs with yellow ones except one that’s after the ramp light, that one’s red; but I’ll bet if I go check they’re all the new red ones. The triangle triggers YIELD, and the memory is the childhood one.

    nk (dbc370) — 7/25/2014 @ 8:15 am

  18. Primarily yellow, and black. 47.

    School Marm (228bed) — 7/25/2014 @ 8:21 am

  19. yellow
    61

    Orcadrvr (38828c) — 7/25/2014 @ 8:28 am

  20. So, was this a federal mandate?

    Kevin M (b357ee) — 7/25/2014 @ 8:42 am

  21. Yellow, 55.

    Dana (24e307) — 7/25/2014 @ 8:43 am

  22. First thought was yellow & black. Then I thought about my drive into work, they were all white & red.

    So:

    White & Red

    31.

    I don’t know the last time I saw a yellow & black yield sign.

    egd (2130a5) — 7/25/2014 @ 8:44 am

  23. red & white, 57

    Mike S. (f5d617) — 7/25/2014 @ 8:46 am

  24. 1. Yellow.

    2. 69

    Allen Edwards (40ec78) — 7/25/2014 @ 8:52 am

  25. Red (outside) and white (inside) triangle, flat edge on top, point on bottom.
    41.

    I served on my neighborhood planning group here in San Diego for over 8 years and we learned (about 5 or so years ago) from the city traffic engineers that they won’t put in yield signs anymore. The reasons given were that people just blow through yield signs and too many treat stop signs like yield signs. So they’re going the way of the dodo around here at least.

    Miguelitosd (d13001) — 7/25/2014 @ 9:12 am

  26. black and yellow – old enough to know better.

    mg (31009b) — 7/25/2014 @ 9:46 am

  27. Red and white, has been for some 20 years. And I love to ask this question.

    Amphipolis (d3e04f) — 7/25/2014 @ 10:04 am

  28. #1 yellow with black trim and black lettering #2 60+

    Kevin Crowley (9da617) — 7/25/2014 @ 10:15 am

  29. Here is a wrench in the mix… Many of us that grew up in the computer era, especially techies, will likely say black/yellow at first even though we have only ever seen the red ones on the streets… Why, because we have grown up with an icon that stands for caution as a yellow triangle with a black exclamation mark… My initial thought was yellow/black.

    Chris (63cecb) — 7/25/2014 @ 10:22 am

  30. I sure hope he won’t ask our weight next, otherwise I’ll be compelled to lie through my teeth.

    Dana (24e307) — 7/25/2014 @ 10:22 am

  31. The first thing I thought was yellow. 56.

    Ag80 (eb6ffa) — 7/25/2014 @ 10:41 am

  32. Yellow/57

    Ipso Fatso (10964d) — 7/25/2014 @ 10:52 am

  33. I thought about it and couldn’t remember. They were either black on yellow, or red & white. Turns out I was right. 46.

    Wiz (51f5dc) — 7/25/2014 @ 10:58 am

  34. Yellow/58.

    Gazzer (e04ef7) — 7/25/2014 @ 10:59 am

  35. Trick question. “Merging traffic” “yield ahead” and “yield” signs are usually posted near each other, Yield signs signs are triangles with red letters/symbols on a white background while the other signs have yellow backgrounds. 56

    rfy (9f230f) — 7/25/2014 @ 11:00 am

  36. I still see the ocassional Yellow Yield sign not long ago…but now they are almost all the Euro Red outlined white.

    I R 48 yrs old

    JP Kalishek (78ae0c) — 7/25/2014 @ 11:33 am

  37. I didn’t know for sure, but suspected red and white. I am 25.

    Leviticus (3b77b1) — 7/25/2014 @ 11:37 am

  38. Triangle, point down. Usually yellow with black lettering. Some states have red. You would think there would be a federal standard.

    Stop is an octagon, flat down. Usually red with white. Sometimes appears to be round or rectangular because a round or rectangular sign behind it obscures the shape. Sometimes with lights around the edges in various colors. Sometimes a painted octagon on a square sign. Pointing out to the officer that that doesn’t meat the definition in the Driver’s Handbook (I happened to have one) got a chuckle from the officer and a “well, you stopped more than the sign is octagonal, go on!”

    Old enough to know better, young enough to get in trouble anyway. 67. Middle age is creeping up on me.

    htom (412a17) — 7/25/2014 @ 11:54 am

  39. Yellow and 72

    bald01 (096663) — 7/25/2014 @ 1:40 pm

  40. Amber, over 21, way over!

    felipe (960c75) — 7/25/2014 @ 2:12 pm

  41. When I first started driving in the mid-50’s, they were yellow, but now they’re red, but CA being the cheap bastards they are, won’t replace the old ones until someone steals one, so you end up seeing them in both colors.
    Sometimes I wonder why we have both YIELD and STOP signs since drivers now seem to react to both in the same manner – a slight and very brief diminution of speed way too fast to even be called a “California Stop” anymore.

    askeptic (efcf22) — 7/25/2014 @ 2:36 pm

  42. I think our esteemed host has an unspoken motive here. He’s actually collecting demographics for his site, so he’s cloaking the relevant question (our ages) with a harmless question that makes people want to answer (color of a yield sign).

    I could be wrong…

    Chuck Bartowski (11fb31) — 7/25/2014 @ 3:35 pm

  43. Red and white with a yellow triangle. 59.

    Yield signs were yellow years ago.

    reff….

    reff (4eadac) — 7/25/2014 @ 3:41 pm

  44. Chuck, it’s a secret program instituted by the Bilderburgers.

    askeptic (efcf22) — 7/25/2014 @ 4:39 pm

  45. 1. Yellow (triangular, one point downward)
    2. 70.

    Gramps, the original (db39da) — 7/25/2014 @ 5:04 pm

  46. Remember I do when sign was triangular white, bordered by black with black lettering. Then yellow they became with black lettering. Now have become triangular white bordered by red with red lettering they have. Yoda hates to give his age, but lived through 2 millennia, 2 centuries, 6 decades, and 2 years I have! Old, feeble this body has become! Sigh! Soon must pass on to make room for new generation of Force users I must.

    Yoda (cffabe) — 7/25/2014 @ 5:49 pm

  47. Have no idea what color they are but I am positive they mean drive faster the coast is clear. 54

    highpockets (b8830b) — 7/25/2014 @ 6:09 pm

  48. Yeller. Fitty-Sebum.

    J.P. (bd0246) — 7/25/2014 @ 7:39 pm

  49. Both

    steveg (794291) — 7/25/2014 @ 7:41 pm

  50. I prolly see both but my impression is black on yellow. 62.

    And here’s a similar passing truism, the dollar is the world’s only reserve currency:

    http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-07-25/de-dollarization-spreads-swiss-chinese-central-banks-enter-swap-agreement

    gary gulrud (46ca75) — 7/25/2014 @ 7:48 pm

  51. http://images.roadtrafficsigns.com/img/lg/K/Oncoming-Traffic-Sign-K-6443.gif

    51 It’s news to me they come in another color.

    papertiger (c2d6da) — 7/25/2014 @ 9:23 pm

  52. Hm, I am old enough that the Yield Sign name maps to yellow (inverted triangle). However when I see this new fangled white with thick red border sign it alias maps into the Yield Sign name. In fact when I see any of the newer of the four US versions they all map to Yield Sign without really thinking about it. But, if trying to visualize the sign after seeing the name “Yield Sign” I always get the inverted yellow triangle with thin black border and the word Yield (and possibly some other scribbling) inside. The trapezoidal version is one I’d recognize after reading it. But the shape alone would inspire a “what?” reaction, leading to more careful scrutiny.

    Yield Sign via Wikipoodle

    (As a good engineer I did not trust my memory without checking up on it.)

    {^_-} And a lady NEVER declares her age.

    JDow (e30d81) — 7/26/2014 @ 2:12 am

  53. I thought yellow with black letters. 71 I will definitely think next time I see one.

    PatAZ (63dc03) — 7/26/2014 @ 5:10 pm

  54. Yellow, 64

    Angelo (89bc04) — 7/26/2014 @ 5:57 pm

  55. In New York City, it’s black with white lettering: “Keep to right on subwat stairs.

    How does that work in places with no subways?

    Johanna L (75b7f0) — 7/27/2014 @ 7:46 am

  56. I’m 25, btw.

    Johanna L (75b7f0) — 7/27/2014 @ 7:46 am

  57. Red with some white. 33.

    bridget (37b281) — 7/27/2014 @ 4:26 pm


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