I was very surprised to learn just how new this symbol is. I'm a bit too young for it but apparently there were times in my parents' lifetimes when few Americans would have understood it.
Religon == memes
Writing == telling memes to others
The Princes Alice experiments show why superstition might be valuable (and so get preserved in a culture) if you don't have much technology to provide oversight. Children were told to perform a task and that an (invisible) Princess, Alice is watching to check they don't cheat while the adults are away. Superstitious children didn't cheat because they believed in Alice watching them. The non-superstitious children cheated, after first verifying that in fact Alice does not seem to exist (e.g. passing their hand through space supposedly occupied by the invisible princess)
Why not go talk to some Muslims about the Islamic church? Or some Hindus about the church of Shiva? I'm sure you'll find the discussion edifying!
<https://businessfinancing.co.uk/the-oldest-company-in-almost...>
HN discussion: <https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22426289>
As the articles says on the end, we don't know how old non-standardized versions of it are.
and how's the standardization drive going? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prohibitory_traffic_sign#No_mo... (link somebody else posted)
There can be regional differences on what signs are required. I only checked the Italian one, but that sign only prohibits cars, motorcycles are still allowed. If both are prohibited, they presumably display both signs, or prohibit all vehicles (including bicycles) with that sign.
many don't have the slash; some do