I've always enjoyed reading the Smithsonian magazine. Recently, I found an interesting article on the history of the yellow school bus. For me, I always thought they were yellow, ever since i stepped on one to go off to first grade in 1954. It wasn't till 1939 at a conference to decide the standardization of the school bus held in the Grace Dodge Room at Columbia Teachers College did we get the color yellow. In a close second place were the proponents of the patriotic red, white and blue bus. Yellow was chosen for its high visibility. The choice proved to be the right one. Less than one percent of traffic fatalities each year involve the ubiquitous bus. One other interesting fact with a racial twist: In a 2019 podcast, ex President Jimmy Carter said that when the Georgia state school board agreed to provide buses, “The legislature ordained that the buses loaded with African-American children had to have their front two fenders painted black. They wanted everybody to know that a bus was hauling black kids instead of white kids.” What a country, huh?
But why did it take me 3 hours to read this? My attention span is fuccced up😆...Anyway..
Interesting bit of history.. Goes to show how race permeates every aspect of Ameriican life & culture. I'll never see a yellow school bus the same again.