Noah LiebmanOk maybe everyone else already got this, but I just realized that the ⌥ option key symbol is basically a railroad switch, taking whatever action would normally happen and routing it down a different path
Nate@noleli I had NOT made that connection!
Greg Walsh 🦏
Jacob Lee
Spencer@noleli what 🤯
Alex R@noleli one of my favourite symbols! Some renderings definitely make this more obvious than others
Irenes (many)@noleli oh huh so it is
Dan Mielcarz@noleli @bigzaphod Holy crap. My mind is blown right now!
Jordan Krahn@noleli whaaaaaaaaat
zipkid - Breaker of Systems
Sindarina, Edge Case Detective
isaiah@noleli it sure looks a lot like the electrical schematic symbol for a Single Pole Dual Throw (SPDT) switch -- which yes, has a function a lot like the railroad switch -- so same idea.
Highlander@noleli looking from a perspective that an icon should explain itself, this one is a failure.
Nick@noleli now the command key please 😆
Joe@nickchuckwalter @noleli That's (⌘) famously the "Looped Square" symbol used as a road sign for places of interest in Nordic countries, Susan Kare borrowed it for use on Apple keyboards
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Looped_square#Modern_use
Interestingly, this is recorded history, whereas I'm not aware of an authorative source regarding whether the "option" key (⌥) was designed after railroad tracks, or a microswitch, or something else
@hungryjoe @noleli ohhh interesting! Thanks
Axel Hartmann@noleli not the left half of a bathtub?
Hanneke@noleli or, as I call it, the trolley problem key.
Thomas Sturm@noleli Wut? I had no idea... 😲
K@noleli
I love it! Thanks.
I love it! Thanks.
Bryan Schuetz
Julien W.@noleli I've seen it rather as an (electronic) switch (or relay), see the schematic in https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Switch https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Switch#/media/File:SPDT-Switch.svg
