The 'Red word/Green man' war

[@bramnet]

I love how in the captions, when Devin talks about the two spaces after a period, there is immediately two spaces after the period. You can’t tell me that wasn’t intentional.

[@TheFreeBro]

How can you visually tell? Captions all ended on the period. Did you search and highlight the transcript just to find what you were hoping for?

[@DuskPunkZebra]

@@TheFreeBro The color bar extends longer to "house" the extra space. Type nerds and people who work with type a lot are attuned to seeing the differences. However, Devin is, typographically speaking, wrong. Modern typefaces are designed to account for the need for the space after a period to be larger than the space between words, so the double space is no longer needed unless you're using a monospaced typeface, which like the typewriters they mimic, have each character occupy the same amount of horizontal space, thus requiring an extra space for the visual and spacing indicator of the end of a sentence.

[@outsideaglass]

@@DuskPunkZebra Well but to Devin's credit, he's a lawyer. Most of the things he writes are legal documents that have a long history of looking a specific way. So as you said "modern" typefaces is exactly why - lawyers don't use modern typefaces. This is absolutely me just guessing btw, I'm an engineer, nowhere close to legal stuff.

[@Martykun36]

@@DuskPunkZebra It doesnt, really. At least not in the version I'm seeing. I uploaded a comparison in imgur (the suffix is a2kkL6F) which shows exactly nine pixels after the period in Devin's bar and then nine pixels after the period in Tom's bar in a later line.

[@fullfungo]

I thought it was a pedestrian traffic light. As far as I know, in the US they have a lot of signs and traffic lights with words instead of symbols. So I thought it was a “stop”/“don’t walk” light vs a green 🚶 light.

[@Simon-fg8iz]

Thought the same! And it's not even consistent - the cars in the US have "green circle light / red circle light". Why would then the pedestrians have "red hand in a square sign / white WALK in a square"?

[@tpottrell]

Aye thats what I was thinking too :)

[@chiralvandal]

Same!

[@shinjisan2015]

me too right until ISO was mentioned then it put me right onto exit signs.

[@gwaptiva]

The same is true for buttons on the dashboards of cars: Intelligible uniform symbol vs English word

[@JoeBleasdaleReal]

I was convinced this was going to be “DON’T WALK”

[@ryangjewell]

I work for a Canadian airline and we are actually currently going through the process of switching "Exit/ Sortie" signs on our airplanes to little green man signs as we speak.

[@romainsavioz5466]

Does it change when passing the Quebec border 🤣 ?

[@falseprofit9801]

My heart goes out to everyone involved in that process. I’m assuming that the Bloc Quebecois has to be dragged kicking and screaming to legally remove a French word from something.

[@debug9424]

@@falseprofit9801 The green exit signs are becoming more and more popular in Québec fairly fast. Opposition mostly exists in the other provinces. In Québec we prefer signs that use symbols, since they work for any languages. The rest of Canada tends to follow the USA's lead and resists.

[@tonypang83]

Until Tom said you'd find it inside buildings, I kept thinking it was about crossing the road. Some places show symbols of the green and red man, whilst other places (i.e. in N.America) would just say "walk / don't walk"

[@stephenlee5929]

Same here. Knew I was missing something but was quite sure what.

[@wta1518]

The Walk/Don't Walk signals are an old standard that only pops up in traffic lights that haven't been updated in a really long time. Any moderately recent signal will have an orange hand and a white walking person.

[@VoIcanoman]

In Canada, we actually have both. Tom correctly pointed out the "Sortie" signs you will see in Québec, but that province _mostly_ uses the green man (and also, a related red version, wherein a white man runs out of a red building with a white-door silhouette, and there are red flames visible pursuing him) as do all of the jurisdictions I've visited in the rest of Canada (certainly Ontario, Manitoba and Saskatchewan). I think it sometimes has to do with the age of the building though - new buildings are _required_ to use the international standard, and many older ones have made the change voluntarily.

[@annaczgli2983]

@LegalEagle was really impressive throughout this episode. He got so many answers, even the scientific & math ones. One smart fellow!

[@sonan333]

I love that the captions are color-coded so each person has their own color. Nice touch there.

[@JACKHARRINGTON]

No way that's so cool.

[@ZipplyZane]

That's apparently more common on European closed captioning.

[@frgnr88]

I wonder if this green man icon first came around with the 1964 Tokyo Olympics. Not only did they really make the icons for each event a real thing, they also created ones for general use around the Olympic Village to allow all the athletes to know directional where and what different things were.

[@Turalcar]

That's probably where it started but that particular design is from the 70s. The designer is Japanese though (Yukio Ota).

[@Mr_Haddles]

Just as a heads-up, the captions are not accurate; I'm guessing they're from another highlight?

[@marctreal]

Looks like it's fixed now

[@ekjswim]

I was SO amazed that this was not in reference to the interstellar observations WOW and LGM-1, WOW being a big red word written on the printout of a big radio spike from space and LGM-1 being the nickname of the first pulsar observed by radio satellite which they thought was a beacon sent by interstellar life. And the article would've been something about sending back communications into space. And extra credit because we get a lot of repeat topics in Tom's works and there was the Citation Needed episode on "A Message from Earth".

[@aiocafea]

oh my god thank you, i was so confused as to where i heard 'little green men' recently

[@panda4247]

A message from Eeerthh

[@tlhIngan]

Except that the standard is changing in North America. I know in Canada that all new Exit signs are the green man symbol, while the old Exit sign can still remain until they're replaced. This results in renovated buildings actually having both red Exit signs and the green man logo depending on whether the sign is new or not (this was fun in our office which renovated as we expanded, so the old exit signs stayed, but new green signs were put up to ensure that there is always an Exit sign where ever you look). This has been in place for at least the past 5+ years now. I know places in the US have also adopted the convention. This problem came about because in general, "red" means "danger" so a red sign is something that you need to pay attention to. Green means "go" and in an emergency, you want to go towards the exit, and not get confused because it's a red sign with Exit on it.

[@jaybestnz]

This is so good to see Cleo here too!

[@lukebortot7625]

This isn't just for exit signs, this is most signs. The US (also Canada and Mexico due to proximity) has a standard that signs should contain simple words to explain the concept. Where as Europe (and most of the rest of the world) use symbols. The US's word system is useful when you see a sign that you have never seen before. Whereas the symbol method is useful when you are in a place where you do not speak/read the official language, but you do have to memorize what all the symbols mean. When I took a trip to Europe a few years ago I had no idea what any of the road signs meant (except for speed limits and stop signs). I'm sure I accidentally broke a several laws because of this.

[@Zack_Wester]

the thing whit most signs if they are designed correct. should work even if you have never seen it before. a word must be translated and also another fact is that human are faster to recognize and decode a symbol then a word (and in panic we can easily fail to decode a word even if its in our own laungwish) but we will always be able to transcribe the symbol.

[@spelcheak]

But there is still like 5 different symbol standards right? Like South Africa shares it’s own with a few countries iirc

[@debug9424]

Word-based road signs are not actually the norm in Canada, and even more so in Québec. Not depending on a specific language is the main reason, like with european signage. ISO building exit signs are more and more common around here, and fire codes around Canada are now preferring or even requiring the ISO version.

[@OntarioTrafficMan]

@@debug9424 In Ontario (and probably other provinces), the ISO sign is not only common, it is legally required by law on all new construction since January 2014.

[@Programmdude]

For driving, while common signs don't need an explanation (at least by the time you're allowed to drive), some of the more common signs should have both the international symbol and the english (or dominant language of the country) on it. Stuff like "slippery when wet" to indicate a slip hazard. Somewhat rare, but it takes me a second when I see it to know what it means. Even worse are the signs with the boobs on them, I think it's to indicate hilly roads up ahead, but without looking at the road code again, I couldn't say for sure.

[@the_alex_ellis_channel6923]

I find that in New Zealand, we still have a lot of signs that say "EXIT", but in White-on-Green. We do have the "Green Man" as well. another benefit of the Green man is it allows manufacturers to sell the same product around the world without localisations needed. A lot of European Fire Call-Points (or as the yanks would call them "Pull Stations"), they no longer say the worlds "Fire Alarm", rather just use a symbol of a burning house. This is something we haven't adopted here in NZ, as most of ours still say the word "Fire" or "Fire Alarm" on them. Interestingly, three brands of Fire Alarm system over here all use the exact same type of KAC call-point, but Notifier & Vigilant use ones with the words "Fire Alarm" whilst Bensan (Protec) uses ones with the symbol.

[@qwertyTRiG]

I have read that article. I recognised it immediately.

[@neverknow2474]

5:59 i started yelling “Oh my gosh!!! Exit signs!!”

[@Schenkel101]

I was so smug thinking it had something to do with pedestrian signals.

[@JouvaMoufette]

That's the title for the different upcoming video! This is the one about the exit signs, not the border wall volleyball game Edit: Actually it looks like everything including captions about this should be related to the other video, except for the video itself.

[@the8bitgentleman]

Tom picked the wrong video file it seems.

[@greggpeters5662]

There are both green and red exit signs in my area. The ones with exit in red letters are fire exits and the green ones are regular exits.

[@dropzone01]

Yes, same for me in Canada.

[@SylviaRustyFae]

In USA at least, the buildin codes are decided not by the feds but by each state/territory... And theres about a 20/40/40% split on what the regs require/recommend for emergency signage Only two states require that emergency exit signs be green, not red; Utah and Maryland. Only three states require it be red, not green; Illinois, South Carolina, and Rhode Island. There are 7 other states that recommend green, and 16 other states that recommend red. The remainin 22 states have no recommendations at all and just require there be an exit sign (tho those statew may require the word exit be written on the sign, usually also specifyin it must be written in at least English 9,9 But thats an entirely different subject from the colours alone, but is also why the little green man hasnt been adopted commonly here) The territories prescribe... idk and findin that info alrdy categorised by someone else is harder than the states, but id wager most dont stick to requirin a big red word; as our territories tend to be more likely to adopt international standards faster, that and they are more multilingual than most states I do not believe non-emergency exit signs need to be marked in any prescribed colours in any state/territory; which wud explain optin for green there, as its just easier to spot a green word than a red word, and ppl know green as go and red as stop. Id sus that the other side of the exit has a red do not enter sign on it even.

[@RFC-3514]

"In case of fire, don't be colour blind"

[@SteelSkin667]

It took a while, but I got it when Tom mentioned public buildings. That is a really good one.

[@shaunhouse8469]

Guess at 4:16 thanks wholly to Tom's clue. Walk/Don't Walk - crossing signals for pedestrians - I can't think of what the headline was but it's what the UK call Pelican crossings

[@garyd.7372]

Do the London tube stations still have "WAY OUT" signs? Coming from California, they would make me flashback to the '60s and start thinking "Far out, dude!" A few times, I thought that I said that out loud, and expected to be escorted out somewhere by bobbies to sober up.

[@tlhIngan]

"Way Out" is the international standard phrasing for the normal (non-emergency) exit from transit stations I know. I believe quite a few transit systems have replaced their signs to say "Way Out" to point to how you get out of the station. Because of the maze-like layout of a lot of transit stations, instead of just using a street name (which can be confusing if one isn't familiar with the area), "Way out" helpfully points you to how to get out at any exit where you can hopefully re-orient yourself.

[@Craig_Anderson]

In New Zealand we have a conglomeration of both: proper exit signs are illuminated green with white 'EXIT' text, although occasionally if it is just a regular signboard to point the way it will be a man running towards a door in green

[@TheLikeys]

5:55 this is when it clicked for me. Influenced by the thumbnail and also Devin knowing what it is, I first thought this was about a Disney lawsuit with the Toy Story movies or smth..

[@TimBowers]

When Tom said you'd see it in every public building, it hit me. Run awayyyyyyyyyy ;)

[@alextemplemusic]

Before Tom said "1970s," I thought it was going to be a business dispute between Netflix and Android!

[@jeandanielodonnncada]

In Québec most new construction is phasing in the green man. So we have a mix. EXIT in English in some very old buildings, then Sortie in medium old, green man in the newest.

[@dropzone01]

In Canada (Toronto at least) I've seen both used. I'm guessing some newer buildings are using the ISO standard of the green sign? But I'm not sure. Edit - I saw another comment about both being used and that the green signs were used for regular exits and the 'EXIT" sign was used for emergency fire exits. I think that may be the case for me as well.

[@johaquila]

I think it's more likely that the red EXIT signs date to a time when only emergency exits had to be labeled somehow, and the running green man signs were added later, when they had become the new standard and new regulations required more signage. Either because they required that ordinary exits are also labeled, or because they required that wherever you look, you must see such a sign. The effect in older buildings is what you describe, but no doubt in new buildings the signs are uniform.

[@ferretyluv]

When I was young, I always thought Japan was special with the little green man signs and just assumed everywhere in the Anglosphere had the big red word. Then I went to London and saw the little green man and was so confused. I thought England and Japan were just special. I’m pretty sure the Caribbean also uses the big red word because I don’t remember seeing the little green man when I went to Jamaica as a kid.

[@BraveLittlePixel]

reading the title I immediately got traffic lights with a war over the red words STOP or something on lights, so adding this as my guess before the answer is revealed

[@iabervon]

I remember the first time I went to Europe, I was confused in a museum as to why there were signs tell you to run into a wall. The signs were clearly "person running, arrow, solid rectangle". Most of the current ones are clearer about the rectangle being an opening the person can pass through.

[@som-shekhar]

A small suggestion. When you show all people in the screen, also show the original question for reference. Some times, it breaks the flow and we want to relook at the question

[@lateralcast]

We do have a layout that does that, but it's REALLY cramped and the text ends up being tiny. You can always rewind!

[@som-shekhar]

@@lateralcast Can it be displayed at the bottom (may be in smaller letters)? Yes rewind works but many times, the current conversation is equally engaging and rewinding breaks the flow.

[@iamjamieq]

I figured this one out thanks to watching multiple seasons of Jet Lag The Game. Thanks Sam, Adam, and Ben!

[@OntarioTrafficMan]

In Canada we also use the green man for exit signs. In my province, it was adopted in January 2014, replacing the old standard which was a red "EXIT" or "SORTIE" sign.

[@allyouneed71]

I live and work in the depths of french Quebec and we have just, this year(2023), started replacing Big Red Word sings and installing Little Green Men sings in their place at my job

[@mrsocks8]

lmao they messed up the title and captions, I think for a future video?

[@timothymclean]

2:20: "You will have seen these a lot." "So the little green man could be aliens..."

[@munjee2]

I don't know if this standard but the red ones seem to be used internationally too, but only for emergency exits typically

[@JACKHARRINGTON]

5:54 I got it around here. Wow, I couldn't imagine the US standard over the universal sign, that's just so weird.

[@HaloInverse]

I had absolutely no idea what this could be until Tom mentioned that it was an _"ISO standard_ little green man" - at which point I suddenly knew _exactly_ what it was. Visualizing that was enough.

[@mattymerr701]

Two spaces after a period is disgusting and only been taught by people who are new to computers smh

[@michaelsloan9085]

Some of the exit signs in Canada have been changing. At the hotel I work at we have a mix of the two...new signs we purchase are all the green background and white man running.

[@NickyG-NZ]

Ohhh I got the sign angle really early but i was thinking crossing lights, i.e. "walk" / "don't walk" vs little green man / little red man.

[@budmartin8297]

I'm disappointed there was no picture of the little green man sign. I don't travel outside N America, so have never seen it.

[@fubini_yt]

I am currently in Singapore, and apparently, they made the compromise to go with "Big green word" (or rather white "EXIT" word on green background)

[@WhatsUpGazpacho]

About half way thorough I thought it was the walk/don't walk but then as soon as Tom said indoors I knew it was the exit sign

[@ChunkeeMunkee]

I can't believe I actually got one of these! Figured out the Little Green Man and the Big Red Word just after Tom brought up the "standard"... I'm far too pleased about this 😅

[@fariesz6786]

i was quickly and firmly with pedestrian lights, but then Tom said "in buildings" and inwas startled for a second but then knew the answer

[@InnesTahtinen]

Listening to it, I was convinced it was about pedestrian crossings, like a red word saying Walk vs a green walking man.

[@mzak5204]

It wouldn’t be a big red word for walk though

[@InnesTahtinen]

@@mzak5204 I know, I know, it'd be a red 'Don't Walk' and a green 'Walk'. My idea was mostly based on the 'all the pedestrian signs are walking away from Poland' image that I've seen before

[@Vykk_Draygo]

We use both. I prefer words to symbols, as there is no question, but used in conjunction, sure.

[@Jupiterninja95]

My gut guess is it has to do with crosswalk lights

[@geogeotagz]

Not quite sure how this connects to volleyball??

[@SlyPearTree]

I know who everyone one is this time, this does not happen often. It's a near thing though since I only started following Cleo recently.

[@xpehkto]

Subtitles are from the wrong question, please fix. Edited: Thank you, it's fixed.

[@qwertyTRiG]

I'm still seeing the wrong subtitles.

[@dedy4games146]

5:59, I'm going to guess, the emergency exit signs?

[@JohnDlugosz]

I remember watching Sesame Street in the '70's, and they had a skit to teach the Spanish word "Salida" that would be posted over a door. In the skit, affixing the sign conjured a door in a bricked-in room.

[@johaquila]

There are lots of Spanish words that you might know about // But there's only one best way to say which way is out. // And that's SALIDA. SALIDA. SALIDA. I was sure you were referring to the jazzy Salida Song, but as it doesn't contain the gag you describe, it made me search for another Sesame Street salida sketch, and I found "Luis looks for the SALIDA in a brick room". Thanks!

[@W0Ndr3y]

You threw me off with the thumbnail a lot 😁 good job

[@markusklyver6277]

Which secret high-risk volleyball match is Tom Scott hiding??

[@kevinmartin7760]

I got this one before starting the video. Here in Canada (southern Ontario specifically) the "EXIT' or "SORTIE" or "EXIT/SORTIE" signs were required, but now the building code requires the running green man instead so new construction and renovations have the green man, while the old red signs remain in older locations. Does England still have "WAY OUT" signs (which phrase has had a different meaning in North America since the 1960's)?

[@der.Schtefan]

OMG, legal eagle, Simone, in one Podcast? Universe crossover!

[@spcxplrr]

I live in the US (seattle) and some infrastructure has the green man. The tunnels under downtown (SR-99) and under the east of the city going onto the floating bridge (I-90) are plastered in green men so you know where the exit is in case of fire. There are a lot of green 'EXIT' signs still though. (it varies between states apparently; some states require green, some require red, and some recommend one of them. washington recommends green.)

[@MichaelJohnson-vi6eh]

And how many times does someone ask, "so, how do I get back to the elevator/stairs?" Look up and follow the exit signs.

[@JulianSortland]

The officials in Bristol got stroppy because the exit guy in the Library at the SS Great Brittan is wearing Brunel's stovepipe hat.

[@EweChewBrrr01]

I was thinking it was to do with crossins signs. You have the green man and the red man. I thought America might have the words stop and go. I was so confident when I guessed that too.

[@kevinbarnard3502]

The reason exit signs are predominantly red, but, yes are changing, is because the human eye can see red better by not reacting to it. All other colors of light cause our pupils to react by contracting. Red light causes the pupils to contract the least allowing for better visibility in low light circumstances such as when the only things visible would be battery powered exit signs due to power loss, smoke from bldg fire, etc

[@raphaelnikolaus0486]

International standard vs. North America only standard - says everything. (Especially as an answer to "What is standard where?" referring to the International Standards Organization's agreed design vs. what North America decides to use.) Giving me Brexit vibes also.

[@lostcarpark]

I was sure it was going to be pedestrian crossing lights!

[@ulespico]

This is wild! For half the video, I was going for some "war" in the field of astronomy and extra-terrestriality, since both the detection of the 1967 Pulsar, which was at the time referred to as LGM (Little Green Men), and the 1977 "Wow signal" (The word "Wow!" marked in red next to some data) both ambiguously work with "Little Green Man" and "The big red word". I couldn't be further off but it's still cool to see that this theory works for both sides.

[@sandwich2473]

As soon as he said Iso standard, I immediately thought of Stop and the green man walking for lights

[@sandwich2473]

Aww beans

[@gabyg389]

Australia have kind of split the difference by having a big green sign with EXIT on it. We occasionally have a green running man as well.

[@AA_21861]

2010 has numerous options. I initially thought it was Angry Birds (red bird versus green pigs), and that the Slate article has misspelt 'Big Red Bird' to 'Big Red Word'. Then thought it was a fight between KZbin (Big Red Word) and Android (little green man)over which way Google should evolve. Both of these were relevant in 2010

[@DuncanJimmy]

My guess was the light sign for crossing the street, which either says "WAIT" in red, or has a little green man to signal it's okay to cross. And 100% agree with Devin about the double-spaces after a period/ full stop. I will gladly die on that hill (metaphorically speaking).

[@MarcusNexuss]

I like how devin is just playing games on his phone the entire time because he immediately knew the answer

[@Em648]

Where I am in Canada, I have only seen the "little green man" signs, never the big red "EXIT" signs.

[@observer127]

@4:11, I think I got it, thinking pedestrian...

[@IlTrojo]

Hey, subtitles are wrong, these are from the volleyball Naco video.

[@PassiveDestroyer]

My subtitles were correct.

[@hii-people2245]

@@PassiveDestroyer they probably fixed it

[@qwertyTRiG]

@@PassiveDestroyer I'm still seeing the wrong ones, but other people have reported it as fixed. Maybe there's a caching issue.

[@suzannehawkins383]

the UK just doesnt use exit like NA does. their buildings all have 'Way Out' on their exit signs. its kinda like their yield signs all say 'give way'.

[@jamesheller5242]

Got it at 6:15... Exit signs

[@PaulCotterCanada]

I enjoy these, trying to figure out what questions I would ask. I do have a problem with this episode. The thumbnail gave it all away.

[@rachmadsuhartono]

This is the only question that i got right before they did

[@joelf1]

Just started the video, my guess would be traffic lights for pedestrians. Here in Germany (and certainly loads of other countries) there is a standing/waiting red man for waiting and a green walking man for going. But in other countries there is writing instead, probably a red 'stop' and a green 'go' for example. Which then of course makes the headline extra tricky because the green man and the red word are not the whole story because they obviously come in pairs of red/green each.

[@joelf1]

Oh, okay, now that he said that it's in buildings: Probably green man with arrow and square (technically white man on green) vs. big red "Exit"?

[@Juke-Fox]

EXIT! EXIT SIGNS! I AM SO SMART I FIGURED IT OUT!

[@Aviertje]

I'm nearly at the end, and it turns out my first association with the little green man during the first 30 seconds was actually correct. I probably would have gotten it earlier if my brain hadn't put so much emphasis on the 'big' in 'big red word'. Dang.

[@Tmp205]

My immediate thought was walk/ don’t walk USA, and the red / green man for Europe / ROW. White man on green is now very commonplace.

[@CoolAsFreya]

Once Tom said ISO standard I immediately got it!

[@Quasihamster]

It's pedestrian traffic lights. Until Tom said it's in public buildings, I was absolutely sure it's traffic lights.

[@umey3445]

at 3:48 is it exit signs!?!?!?!?!

[@AnimeSunglasses]

The weird thing is that I'm used to it often being a big green word... Now I'm wondering if this is a regional thing within the USA...

[@PeterKelley]

Bonus trivia: where in Australia is the only place where a red emergency exit sign is legal?

[@HardlyOrange]

Captions are wrong

[@MrSonny6155]

I had totally forgotten double spaces after a period being a thing. I ceased hearing anything about it after the late 00s. I suspect many editors would even strip spaces automatically these days.

[@lilywashere27]

If I'm not mistaken, we have both in Italy! At least in some facilities. Italians, correct me if I'm wrong

[@RFC-3514]

I'm pretty sure both are used in several places. One is just a word (like you'd have "restaurants", "garden", "waiting room", etc.), the other is the legally required symbol for emergency exits (that shouldn't require the ability to read a specific language).

[@lilywashere27]

@@RFC-3514 grazie per il chiarimento!

[@streaming_account]

At 4: 44 rn im guessing its abt electric walk signals

[@ElectricFury]

I got it once Tom said public buildings

[@arethunessamsonsen6245]

I thought of the WALK-sign for pedestrians.

[@LostieTrekieTechie]

Clicked at 5:55. Exit sign.

[@clpsplug]

Ah, yes, that man. Fun fact, there is an unofficial name for them. (I hid it behind 'read more' so I don't spoil anything.) They are known in Japan as "Picto-san" because their job is being a PICTOgram. They seem to find themselves in all sorts of trouble imaginable everywhere they appear, though. Being an exit sign dude is not the only job for them.

[@markwright3161]

I initially thought traffic light controlled pedestrian crossing. We have a green man to go and the US has a red 'Don't Walk' for not. 2 words, and one is to stop and the other is to go, but I went that way quite early and thought that those sorts of publications wouldn't be that particular, as they are with the definition of 'war'. :)

[@rikulappi9664]

As a European, I would/did consider "red" to refer to something left-wing or possibly dangerous or banned.