Wednesday, August 13, 2008

Bizarre Iconography of Diaper-Changing Tables

There are aliens among us.

Or, at least, that's what you'd think if you based your mental image of humans on the way they are portrayed in the graphics on the fold-out diaper changing tables found in the public restrooms of America.

Lumpy two-headed shape
What species is that? Is that an udder at the bottom? (From an Ohio highway rest stop. )

Red baby and parent, with pointy baby legs
Check out that baby's legs. They look like the top of a soft serve cone!

Classic international symbols. Baby's arms are raised as if to defend from the parent, bending over with arms raised also
"No, mom, don't hit me! I'm tied to this table!" (Photo from the restroom on the waterfront in Buffalo, N.Y.)

Pink child and parent elephants with label that reads Sturdy Station
Oh, yes, my child is an elephant. Isn't yours? (Taken along I-86 in western New York.)

Cute orange tiger in a diaper, label says Baby Quick Change
No, mine is a tiger. (Taken along an interstate in Michigan.)

Koala Bear Kare logo
I must disagree. My child is a koala bear. Note the alteration here: "Baby hanging Station." (From Wisconsin.)

Silhouetted profile of a young child, very stylized, large skull
This is perhaps the progeny of a Star Trek alien. Or possibly the spawn of the silent cartoon character Henry. (From D'Amico & Sons, Saint Paul.)

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