Anachronistic Danger Sign in ‘Alien Autopsy’

The following was provided to the SKEPTICAL INQUIRER by Mr. John R. English, of San Diego, California.

I am a past director of the International Aerospace Hall of Fame (IAHF), San Diego Air and Space Historical Center. During my time as director, I was involved in the search, selection, and installation of several U.S. and foreign astronauts, as well as other significant aviation-related candidates. Research and photo evaluation were a common chore.

This note is the result of some time spent reviewing the room contents as seen in the "Alien Autopsy" film. I realize that this subject has been scrutinized to death (so to speak), but there is, to the best of my knowledge, one glaring omission from the analyses—the Danger sign on the wall to the left of the telephone.

During the early 1980s I was responsible for re-signing a large industrial facility in southern California to bring the various hazard signs up to OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) requirements for that time. This involved the review and replacement of signs indicating dangerous and hazardous environments in and around the facility.

When I first saw the "Alien Autopsy" film, I felt that the Danger sign looked all too familiar. I decided to research the graphic format of the sign. This involved an archival search with OSHA and an additional search of the ANSI (American National Standard Institute) archives. The results were most interesting: they confirmed what I originally suspected. The graphic format used in the Danger sign was adopted by ANSI in 1967, Ref. ANSI index Z53.1-1967, and approved for OSHA in 1973, with implementation to be achieved by 1983, Ref. OSHA index 1910.145.

All said and done, it is very unlikely that a sign with a graphic design originating in 1967 would be available for use in a 1940s environment or film.