Green, Yellow, Red: Top 6 Unbelievable Fun Facts About Traffic Lights You Never Knew!

1. Horse-Drawn Traffic Control

Before automobiles galloped onto the scene, horse-drawn carriages had to trot in sync with a rudimentary traffic coordinator - and not just any mare traffic cop: The very first traffic signal system, a hoof-spun invention in 1868 London, brought its red and green lights to the streets to rein in those wild horse-drawn carriages. Sadly, this equestrian traffic director went out with a literal bang due to a gas leak explosion, only to be resurrected with a yellow twist by a Detroit policeman in 1920 in the form of the modern three-color traffic lights we know today.
Source => todayifoundout.com

2. Life-saving Yellow Light

Back in the day, traffic lights were a little green when it came to safety: they only had red and green signals, leaving drivers to play a high-stakes guessing game on when to slam the brakes. Thankfully, a bright idea blinked into existence: in 1923, Garrett Morgan, an African American inventor, patented a T-shaped traffic signal that included a yellow "caution" light, making intersections much safer by allowing drivers to anticipate the change to red. Morgan's groundbreaking traffic signal prototype has since found a safe haven at the Smithsonian's American History Museum.
Source => magazine.northeast.aaa.com

Did you know it took Thomas Edison 1,000 attempts to create the light bulb? Discover the amazing story behind this game-changing invention 💡✨

=> Fun Facts about The-Light-Bulb

3. Explosive Simon Says

Before there were "red light districts" or "green with envy", the world's first traffic light was playing a dangerous game of Simon Says: This London-based contraption, operational in 1868, relied on gas lighting and pivoting arms to control traffic, but met a tragic end after exploding less than two months later, resulting in the fatality of its diligent police officer operator.
Source => inclusivecitymaker.com

4. Eco-friendly LED Signals

Feeling LED astray by the usual energy-guzzling traffic signals? Hobart's CBD has a bright idea: They're testing LED traffic lights that use 85% less power, last 10 years, and could reduce Australia's greenhouse gas emissions by 100,000 tonnes annually.
Source => abc.net.au

5. Japanese Blue-Green Debate

Feeling blue about traffic lights? Well, you're in good company with the Japanese: In Japan, traffic lights used to be blue instead of green due to the Japanese language using the same word for both colors, which led to the government in 1973 decreeing a shade of green so blue that it can still be called "ao" – meaning blue in Japanese. However, drivers taking their licensing test in Japan still have to pass a vision test that includes distinguishing between red, yellow, and blue, not green.
Source => mentalfloss.com

6. The Evolution of Traffic Lights

In a flash of a not-so-brilliant idea, the world's first traffic light greeted the streets of London with a stinky gas explosion and a job opening for one unlucky police officer: This cautionary tale led to a 46-year intermission until the debut of the electric, dual-colored version in the United States, finally culminating in the 1930s-standardized three-color traffic lights and pedestrian signals we know today.
Source => inclusivecitymaker.com