Turns out the speed camera sign might not be what people though it was and they are distraught

You’ll be familiar with the speed camera sign – of course you will – and you’ll know what it’s designed to tell you. That there’s a speed camera ahead, obviously.

But what is that symbol an illustration of? Is it a speed camera Or is it something else?

We only mention it after @FeyeraBender said this over on Twitter and it prompted quite the debate.

for years i thought the UK speed camera sign depicted a Victorian bellows camera pointing to the right, but it’s just a boring CCTV camera pointing towards the viewer :/ pic.twitter.com/sCOVzyRPhW

— rory ･‿･ (@FeyeraBender) April 4, 2023

Victorian bellows camera, you say?

like i thought it was one of these: pic.twitter.com/xkmaDsVyZI

— rory ･‿･ (@FeyeraBender) April 4, 2023

And when we say people were distraught, there were lots – and lots – of replies like this one.

oh my god

— Simone Read-Webb (@SimoneReadWebb) April 4, 2023

was very upset when i clocked lol

— rory ･‿･ (@FeyeraBender) April 4, 2023

And these ones.

Bubble burst. Can't unsee that now. https://t.co/bO9T7oNyHl

— Alex Goy (@A1GOY) April 5, 2023

Duckrabbit levels of mind blown. https://t.co/obi2DNZEG0

— Stephen McGann (@StephenMcGann) April 5, 2023

This is terrible news. The camera isn't pointing to the right, it's facing towards us? And that bit on the right-hand side is just a support? Nooo my ignorance was bliss https://t.co/RGSTxhOegv

— Rob (@rob_heighton) April 5, 2023

So much so that @FeyeraBender felt moved to apologise.

wow i’m so sorry to have caused so much distress and discomfort

— rory ･‿･ (@FeyeraBender) April 5, 2023

But questions remained, obviously.

What’s the stuff on the right? An arm attached to a wall?

— Adam Singer (@AdamSinger81) April 4, 2023

yep!

— rory ･‿･ (@FeyeraBender) April 4, 2023

Well, maybe.

But some people – lots of people – just weren’t buying it.

I still don’t see it as anything other than the Victorian style camera

— Sophie Buchan (@journo_sophie) April 5, 2023

Of course it’s a bellow camera. Just like the railroad crossing sign shows a steam locomotive.

— Kirk McElhearn (@mcelhearn) April 5, 2023

Like this one?

Very good point – the age of the item here is irrelevant. Sometimes old items are used because they are universally understood https://t.co/zxn6L3YHxz pic.twitter.com/ubtPnAWU7k

— Tits McGee (@Scientits) April 5, 2023

Makes absolute sense. So much sense that the backlash was soon in full swing.

This doesn’t ring true to me. CCTV cameras are not iconic enough to be recognisable, it’s clearly an old fashioned camera because we recognise it immediately and its symbolic meaning.

— Moose Allain Ꙭ (@MooseAllain) April 5, 2023

I will accept that Trump is a MENSA member before I accept this https://t.co/bwuCUdsEda

— Sorcha Ní Nia (@Luiseach) April 5, 2023

And guess what?

Is this a deferred April Fool, or do you have a good source for this? BBC report from a while ago described it directly as:

‘A 19th Century-style bellows camera’https://t.co/kVF88d1Gk7 pic.twitter.com/bJCfUg51jq

— John McMahon (@JohnMcArts) April 4, 2023

Thank goodness for that.