View source for Skull and crossbones

{{short description|Warning sign}}
{{about|the 'skull and crossbones' symbol|other uses}}
{{Infobox symbol
|mark=☠🕱
|name= Skull and crossbones
|unicode= {{unichar|2620|skull and crossbones|html=}}<br />{{unichar|1F571|black skull and crossbones|html=}}
|see also = {{unichar|2623|biohazard sign |nlink = Biological hazard}}<br />{{unichar|2622|radioactive sign | nlink=Hazard symbol#Ionizing radiation symbol}}
}}
{{Contains special characters|Uncommon Unicode}}
A '''skull and crossbones''' is a [[symbol]] consisting of a [[human skull]] and two [[long bone]]s crossed together under or behind the skull.<ref name="Merriam-webster">{{Cite web|url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/skull%20and%20crossbones|title=Dictionary and Thesaurus|website=Merriam-webster.com}}</ref> The design originated in the [[Late Middle Ages]] as a symbol of [[death]] and especially as a ''[[memento mori]]'' on tombstones. Actual skulls and bones were long used to mark the entrances to [[Skull and crossbones (Spanish cemetery)|Spanish cemeteries (campo santo)]].

In modern contexts, it is generally used as a [[hazard symbol]], usually in regard to [[poison]]ous substances, such as deadly chemicals.<ref name="Merriam-webster"/>

It is also associated with [[piracy]] and [[software piracy]], due to its historical use in some [[Jolly Roger]] flags.

== Military use ==
{{main article|Skull and crossbones (military)}}
The skull and bones are often used in military insignia, such as the [[coats of arms]] of [[regiment]]s.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.army.mod.uk/who-we-are/corps-regiments-and-units/royal-armoured-corps/royal-lancers/|title=WEARING THE SKULL AND CROSSBONES WITH PRIDE|website=The British Army}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|title=The German Army in World War I (1): 1914–15|last=Thomas|first=Nigel|publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing|year=2012|isbn=9781780965512}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|title=Colburn's United Service Magazine and Naval and Military Journal, Volumen 32|publisher=National Library of the Netherlands|year=1867|pages=321}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|title=Death's Head - Volumen 1 de The History of Uniform|last=Hølscher|first=Joost|publisher=Editions Chamerelle|year=2013|isbn=9789082032604|pages=33}}</ref><ref>Joost Hølscher (Author, Illustrator): Death's Head, The History of the Military Skull & Crossbones Badge (The History of Uniform). 1st edition: Éditions Chamerelle 2013, {{ISBN|978-90-820326-0-4}}.</ref>

Since the mid-18th century, skull and crossbones insignia has been officially used in European armies as symbols of superiority. One of the first regiments was the [[Frederick the Great]]'s Hussars in 1741, also known as the "{{lang|de|Totenkopfhusaren}}". From this tradition, the skull became an important emblem in the German army. Identical insignia has been used in the Prussian army after the First World War by {{lang|de|[[Freikorps]]}} and in Nazi Germany by the [[Wehrmacht]] and the [[SS]]. The idea of elitism symbolized by the skull and crossbones has influenced sub- and pop culture and has become part of the fashion industry.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Der Totenkopf als Motiv. Eine historisch-kulturanthropologische Analyse zwischen Militär und Moden |trans-title=The skull as a motif. A historical-cultural anthropological analysis between military and fashion|last=Ruda|first=Adrian|publisher=Böhlau/Brill|language=de|year=2023|isbn=9783412528904}}</ref>
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== Symbol for poisonous substances ==
{{more|Hazard symbol}}
{{multiple image
| align             = right
| direction         = horizontal
| image1            = GHS-pictogram-skull.svg
| width1            = 150
| caption1          = The [[Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals|international]] [[GHS hazard pictograms|pictogram]] for poisonous substances. 
| image2            = Hazard T.svg
| width2            = 150
| caption2          = EU standard toxic symbol, as defined by [[Dangerous Substances Directive (67/548/EEC)]] 
}} 
The skull and crossbones has long been a standard symbol for [[poison]].

In 1829, [[New York State]] required the labeling of all containers of poisonous substances.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=N4N9bsxc2LYC&q=skull+and+crossbones+symbol+of+poison&pg=PA92|title=History of Drug Containers and Their Labels|first1=George B.|last1=Griffenhagen|first2=Mary|last2=Bogard|date=19 November 1999|publisher=Amer. Inst. History of Pharmacy|isbn=9780931292262|access-date=19 November 2017|via=Google Books}}</ref> The skull and crossbones symbol appears to have been used for that purpose since the 1850s. Previously a variety of motifs had been used, including the [[Denmark|Danish]] "+ + +" and drawings of [[skeleton]]s.<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Antique Poison Bottles |url=https://www.collectorsweekly.com/bottles/poison-bottles |magazine=Collectors Weekly |access-date=26 February 2022}}</ref>

In the 1870s poison manufacturers around the world began using bright [[Cobalt glass|cobalt]] bottles with a variety of raised bumps and designs (to enable easy recognition in the dark) to indicate poison,<ref>{{cite web |title=Poison bottle collection | series=Antiques Roadshow |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/2CJMhJnJW8lkGZ4S61fVvGf/poison-bottle-collection |publisher=BBC One |access-date=26 February 2022}}</ref> but by the 1880s the skull and cross bones had become ubiquitous, and the brightly coloured bottles lost their association.<ref name=Farmer>{{cite web |title=Evolution of the Poison Label: From Skull and Crossbones to Mr. Yuk |url=https://designresearch.sva.edu/research/evolution-of-the-poison-label-from-skull-and-crossbones-to-mr-yuk/ |first=Meg |last=Farmer |website=SVA.edu | date=March 2014 |access-date=26 February 2022}}</ref>

In the United States, due to concerns that the skull-and-crossbones symbol's association with [[pirates]] might encourage children to play with toxic materials, the [[Mr. Yuk]] symbol was created to denote poison. However, in 2001, the American Association of Poison Control Center voted to continue to require the skull and crossbones symbol.<ref name=Farmer /> 
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== Gallery ==
<gallery class="center" widths="200px" heights="200px">
Skeletal Arrangements, Sedlec Ossuary (6282842433).jpg|A skull and crossbone arrangement in the [[Sedlec Ossuary]], [[Czech Republic]]. 
Coat of Arms of the 8th Light Armoured Cavalry Regiment Lusitania.svg|Skull and crossbones as a charge in heraldry on the coat of the 8th Lusitania Cavalry Regiment
1607-35 Pesttafel Augsburg anagoria.JPG|An early 17th-century "plague panel" from [[Augsburg]]
Danger High Voltage - Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.jpg|High voltage sign from [[Saudi Arabia]]
BEST DANGER 415 Volts Mumbai.jpg|Skull and crossbones on a sign warning of [[high voltage]] in [[Mumbai]], [[India]]
Warning sign! (9156768909).jpg|Skull and crossbones sign mounted on a [[power box]] in [[Poland]]
Flag of Edward England.svg|A typical [[Jolly Roger]] ensign as used by [[Edward England]], [[John Taylor (pirate)|John Taylor]] and [[Samuel Bellamy]] for example
Mark Twain's American Philippines Flag Proposal.jpg|In 1901, [[Mark Twain]] wrote a satirical essay titled ''[[To the Person Sitting in Darkness]]'', in which he expressed strong anti-imperialist views against certain ongoing conflicts such as the [[Philippine-American War]]. At one point, Twain sarcastically described what the flag of an American-controlled Philippines should look like; "''And as for a flag for the Philippine Province, it is easily managed. We can have a special one—our States do it: we can have just our usual flag, with the white stripes painted black and the stars replaced by the skull and cross-bones.''"<ref>{{cite web |url=https://guides.loc.gov/world-of-1898/mark-twain#:~:text=And%20as%20for%20a%20flag,the%20skull%20and%20cross%2Dbones. |title=World of 1898: International Perspectives on the Spanish American War / Mark Twain |author= |date= |work=Library of Congress |access-date=16 October 2024}}</ref>
Straw Hat Pirates' Jolly Roger.jpg|The [[Straw Hat Pirates' Jolly Roger]] from ''[[One Piece]]''
</gallery>

== See also ==
{{div col}}

* {{Annotated link |Danse Macabre}}
* {{Annotated link |Hazard symbol}}
* {{Annotated link |Human skull symbolism}}
* {{Annotated link |Mr. Yuk}}
* {{Annotated link |Ossuary}}
* {{Annotated link |Skull art}}
* {{Annotated link |Skull and Bones}}
* {{Annotated link |Totenkopf}}
{{div col end}}

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
{{Wiktionary|skull and crossbones}}
* {{Commonscatinline|Skull and crossbones}}

{{Pirates}}

[[Category:Cross symbols]]
[[Category:Warning systems]]
[[Category:Heraldic charges]]
[[Category:Personifications of death]]
[[Category:Pictograms]]
[[Category:Visual motifs]]
[[Category:Skulls in art]]
[[Category:Memento mori]]