Talk:Traffic cone

word "delignation"
Twice this article uses the word "delignation." This word is not found in the dictionary. It's probably a misspelling of something (I just found some other misspellings, including ones added in the same edit) but I'm not sure of what. Perhaps "delineation?" But I'm not sure; the phrases "situations requiring traffic delineation" and "warning or delineation devices" don't seem right to me. But perhaps they're part of traffic management or road work lingo. I wouldn't know anything about that. Maybe somebody else has a better idea what word was meant here. It doesn't help that the original author of the edit, YEPPOON, doesn't seem to be around anymore. -- 205.226.9.142 03:36, 1 December 2006 (UTC)

Someone replaced one instance with "delineation" and I replaced the other with "redirection", so the issue has been fixed for now. If it's road work lingo, maybe some expert will set it right, but it was confusing as it stood.

The whole article could use a bit of rewording. If I have time I'll come back and do it. Kitesailor (talk) 01:09, 28 January 2008 (UTC)

theft discussion
Please explain why stealing pylons is popular with drunk students? This is ageist. Substantiate this claim with a legitimate source.
 * Impressive is what I call it. I'd like to see anyone, especially drunk steal a pylon! Does this word have a different meaning where you live? boffy_b 20:53, 12 April 2006 (UTC)


 * I'm guessing another synonym for Witches Hat. (Hey, I'm a Wiccan, I can use the 'W'-word). I have a vague feeling that the vertical pole/bar type "cones" are called pylons. Alex Law 22:52, 12 April 2006 (UTC)


 * Ahh, thank you. Over here in Merrie Olde England, pylon means pylon. boffy_b 13:37, 15 April 2006 (UTC)


 * We should build additional pylons128.61.149.93 (talk) 21:37, 28 January 2008 (UTC)


 * This conversation should have a few traffic cones around it. – AndyFielding (talk) 11:52, 27 August 2022 (UTC)

yred4rr
As much as I'd like to delve into the psychological motives for teenage mischief, I do not have the analytical background in such matters to presume to be able to appropriately assess the situation. I would suggest however, that it is still appropriate to report the facts when possible even if the motives are not known. Also, I'm not sure how alcohol was brought into the equation either, as the article makes no mention of the young adults particpating in this activity and as far as I know they more often than not are not inebriated when the perform the act. Furthermore, I would tender the suggestion that such an assumption itself is quite ageist as not all teens pursue their favorite activities when under the influence, and to assume that everything that they do involves drinking is a generalization that would be offensive to many who take pride in their abstinence from the substance. As toward a legitimate source, I can only submit that I have personally witnessed that many of the children at the local high school partake in the activity and have said so themselves, having a demeanor and an fully developed vernacular based around the activity that would suggest involvement outside of just my home town, and have in fact made comments which directly state this.

Concerned
Although I do not have a "legitimate" source, I do have firsthand experience with this act. Once, I had observed one of these pylons in the storage area in my friend's pickup truck. When confronted, he responded, "Oh, you know. Well, it’s like this. Some chick said that she'd have sex with me if I stole it." While I did not witness the sexual act, I saw the traffic cone and assumed that he had indeed engaged in sexual intercourse. Another incident involved a group of young adults pilfering a large quantity of traffic cones used by the local police, and placing them in strategic points around the school, to divert traffic away from it, causing the illusion of a school closing. This is an example of a Senior Prank, and documentation can be found on MTV's show "High School Stories," which can be found Here, but the legitimacy of this source could be disputed.

Nomadiccheese 02:10, 31 January 2006 (UTC)

I was a bit irritated that the article did not even mention the act of stealing traffic cones and how it's related to drunk young adults as it is a scenario I saw frequently referenced in British pop culture (and, I suppose, American, too). I guess it's just a stupid dare or something. -- 62.143.99.250 17:39, 17 July 2007 (UTC)


 * PS: Apparently stealing or displacing traffic cones and other random objects is part of British student culture. From what I've read elsewhere, it's ritually worn as headgear by drunk students. I feel like I'm missing out on something...
 * Wow, seems we're on the same wavelength here (and purely by fluke)! Check out the discussion page on the Students article, you may find it interesting.Scott 110 00:19, 19 July 2007 (UTC)

Traffic barrel
These are about 1m high orange-and-white striped barrels used as barriers where a cone may not be heavy-duty enough. Should the article talk about these? I saw no reference to them. ~  crazy tales -Stalk My Contribs!!!- 13:12, 4 December 2006 (UTC)


 * I believe you're referring (or at least you were back in 2006) to construction barrels, another thing entirely. As that page explains (and I trust I can quote WP here without fear of plagiarism):
 * ''[Barrels] are an alternative to traffic cones, which are smaller and easily hit by vehicles. [They] tend to command more respect from drivers than cones as they are larger, more visible, and give the appearance of being formidable obstacles.

– AndyFielding (talk) 11:57, 27 August 2022 (UTC)

History
This section seems quite sparse. I've heard traffic cones were first introduced in London around 1950's and were made of wood (not concrete), then - for some time - from natural rubber - and finally out of plastic.  mfx  Q&A 14:26, 25 October 2007 (UTC)

Resource to wikify.
"On Tuesday's show we spoke to David Morgan, the country’s leading expert on traffic cones…

When and where were they invented? The Met Police made the first attempt at a traffic cone in the mid ‘50s: triangular blocks made out of wood. A company called Linvale in Scotland saw them and decided to try and come up with something that was lighter and less dangerous… so they went for rubber.

In ’58, Linvale made the first batch of rubber cones, but they were heavy, cumbersome and expensive. A guy called Mr. Rushton from Northamptonshire thought that the best most logical material would be plastic. Rushton approached ICI, for whom David was working at that time, with his idea.

In 1961, David made the first rotationally moulded plastic traffic cone from polythene. The rest is history. By 1982, they became standardised, and about five companies were making them. There are now only three, but there are more in Britain than in the rest of the world."

- taken from - probably just temporarily there.

 mfx  Q&A 21:32, 28 October 2007 (UTC) $$Insert formula here$$

Drunken Theft
At the very least, this section should be about the popularity of stealing cones as a prank--and cited with some kind of estimate at how many traffic cones are stolen every year, you know, criminal mischief as the like. Just stating that they're commonly stolen by drunks with no support at all for that? Eh... —Preceding unsigned comment added by 72.0.175.144 (talk) 20:17, 11 March 2008 (UTC)
 * interesting that the inebriated students who once stole traffic cones now connect to the internet and make disruptive edits to the 'theft' section of the article about traffic cones. Say nesh (talk) 18:21, 17 June 2008 (UTC)


 * There's much speculation about the theft issue here on Talk. I submit that such an addition, were it done, couldn't amount to more than a single sentence: that the cones, being generally unattended and amusingly shaped when appeari!g out of context, are often targets of theft. Characterizing the perps as "students" doesn't seem justified. While it's likely that younger people are more apt to make off with them than (presumably older, wiser) people, calling them "students" implies some connection AndyFielding (talk) 12:04, 27 August 2022 (UTC)

VLC Logo
The "Popular Culture" section might benefit from the mention of VLC media player, whose logo is a bright orange traffic cone. --67.175.193.151 (talk) 22:57, 26 April 2009 (UTC)

Gary's mod
Removed the part about Garry's mod. Their splash screen changed and no longer features a traffic cone. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.23.134.24 (talk) 02:39, 14 May 2010 (UTC)

Charles P. Rudabaker
...was just removed as the inventor; as likely fictitious. The name came in with this edit of Janunary 2006. The only support in books is much newer, obviously copied from WP. I wonder if it was just made up; probably so. If anyone finds an older source with such a name, let us know. Dicklyon (talk) 03:25, 13 December 2013 (UTC)

I looked for SO LONG for evidence of this Rudabaker person existing. I am fairly sure he does not. The edit history shows a history of other fictional traffic cone inventors: Adian Wolf, Adian Googleberry. Anyway, Charles D Scanlon has the U.S. patent for the invention of the traffic cone so he is, by U.S. standards, the inventor. Though apparently this patent was a bit contentious at the time...The Patent Act of 1952 made "nonobviousness" a new qualification for something being patentable, and Scanlon's patent for the traffic cone was almost taken away. Luckily, though, this ruling was appealed and traffic cones were deemed "nonobvious." Mobeets (talk) 03:39, 13 December 2013 (UTC)


 * I think you're right. But you need  to have some record of this here on the talk page to help when it comes back, which it likely will, which is why I started this section.  I had a similar problem with the invented "Sir Malcolm Thornhill" as inventor of the cardboard box.  Dicklyon (talk) 06:37, 13 December 2013 (UTC)

Thanks, good idea. And that's pretty funny about the cardboard box inventor. Mobeets (talk) 03:12, 14 January 2014 (UTC)

On a related note, now the article indicates that a "Aaron Stanley" invented it? I take it from the patents and other sources that it is also a fictitious name. AlexanderTG (talk) 07:46, 22 August 2016 (UTC)
 * I undid that bit of vandalism. DMacks (talk) 12:40, 22 August 2016 (UTC)