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#Hobo signs windows#
X = crime committed, not safe for strangersĪvailable for Windows and Mac.
#Hobo signs code#
Finding the same meaning in two different symbols indicates a variant of that symbol. The marks were mainly lines, circles, or arrows, and rarely anything elaborate.I thought there was something exciting, even romantic, about these simple marks, mainly because I knew here was a secret code that denoted some act of kindness or, gave a warning to others who followed. The symbols are placed in the uppercase, lowercase letters, space, question and exclamation marks and mean more or less what is found below. One of the most engaging examples of this was the hobo custom of chalking crude symbols on barns, fence posts, and water tanks so that the boes who came. They mean nothing to those who have never seen them, but are invaluable help for those in need of a job in town and a safe place to stay. Hobo signs, from Symbol Sourcebook, by Henry Dreyfuss, via bLog-oMotives.Hobo signs are signs left by hobos to give directions to other hobos coming to town. Henry Dreyfuss, Hobo Code from his book Symbol Sourcebook: An Authoriative Guide to International Graphic Symbols, 1972. Any sign of cowardice was an indicator that you were easily overcome and could be robbed or abused. So each time you find one of our beers go to the website and find out what the hobo sign means on the can. Be prepared to defend yourself: Coming across this symbol, a hobo would make sure that they stayed alert for aggressive behavior among other hobos or in areas that frowned upon them. If you live in an area with or near a major transportation junction (land,water, rail,etc.) you'll see these signs in or near areas where the homeless encamp.Since it looks like simple graffiti or random scribbles, it's rarely touched or erased. It was used in the opening credits of O Brother, Where Art Thou? Are hobo signs still in use A2A Yes, they are.
One of the most well-known hobo songs is Big Rock Candy Mountain, first recorded by Harry McClintock in 1928, about a hobo’s idea of paradise. “The American Hobo has a hard time hoboing nowadays due to the increase in police surveillance of highways, railroad yards, sea shores, river bottoms, embankments and the thousand-and-one hiding holes of the industrial night.” The number of travelling workers fell dramatically by the 1950s, as Jack Kerouac, no stranger to the hobo life, noted in Lonesome Traveler (1960): The symbols in the photos below were drawn onto a small model of an early-1930s American town.Ĭlockwise from top left (above): kind lady, judge lives here, good place to catch the train, camp here.Ĭlockwise from top-left (above): vicious dog, nothing to be gained, water and safe campsite, owners will give to get rid of you. Look out for hostile railroad detectives here. In the words of Susan Kare, who designed the original Macintosh icons, “This kind of symbol appeals to me because it had to be really simple, and clear to a group of people who were not going to be studying these for years in academia.” Heres just a smattering of the hieroglyphic phrases supposedly known only to members of that notoriously unsung and elusive tribe known as the American hobo: A kind lady lives here. Markings would be made on fences, buildings, trees, pavements - anywhere a message could signal help or trouble. If the farmer was generous, the hobo would mark the lane so other hobos would know it was a good place to beg. Hobos have played a big part in the history of America one that’s often ignored. They criss-crossed the country, usually by freight train, jumping into boxcars as trains pulled away from their stops or slowed at bends in the track.įinding food was a constant problem, and hobos often begged at farmhouses. Of those, 250,000 were said to be teenagers - the economic collapse had destroyed everything in their young lives. The Great Depression (1929–1939) was when numbers were likely at their highest, as it forced an estimated 4,000,000 adults to leave their homes in search of food and lodging. Hobos were the nomadic workers who roamed the United States, taking jobs wherever they could, and never spending too long in any one place.
#Hobo signs how to#
Learn how to recognize a hobo spider and what to do if one bites. To cope with the uncertainties of life, hobos developed a system of symbols they’d write with chalk or coal to provide fellow “Knights of the Road” with directions, help, and warnings. A hobo spider bite is not usually a cause for concern, although some people say it is dangerous. But, there’s more to these signs than just a can of ale. Each beer we package is adorned with a historical Hobo Sign giving homage to a long lost language and a captivating life style. Hobo Signs are the telling tale of our ever evolving beers.
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