That's neat, the symbol had no agreeable associations back then, but now it's become this nefarious looking thing, at least for me, due to things like 28 days later: <a href="http://imgur.com/Ym1PqPE" rel="nofollow">http://imgur.com/Ym1PqPE</a><p>I can't tell if the symbol itself should be nefarious or not, due to all the cultural baggage. From psychology research, we know that shapes are commonly associated with sounds within a culture [1], but it's a very flower icon in an abstract sense.<p>[1] <a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/talking-apes/201505/do-sounds-have-shapes" rel="nofollow">https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/talking-apes/201505/do-...</a>
Find this and other symbols in Hornung's Handbook of Designs and Devices, first published in <i>1932</i>.<p><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clarence_P._Hornung" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clarence_P._Hornung</a><p><a href="http://www.amazon.co.jp/Handbook-Designs-Devices-Pictorial-Archive/dp/0486201252" rel="nofollow">http://www.amazon.co.jp/Handbook-Designs-Devices-Pictorial-A...</a>
There's a new style of hunting arrowhead that is reminiscent of this symbol (and called "Toxic Broadheads". Apparently it's very effective against large game, because it tears out a few ribbons of flesh, and it's much harder for the wound to seal back up.<p><a href="http://www.bowhunting.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/front-3.jpg" rel="nofollow">http://www.bowhunting.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/front-3...</a>
It's not completely meaningless. Apart from the association with the radiation symbol due to the symmetry, it looks strikingly unfriendly, with sharp tentacles reaching out to grab you like a biohazard well might.