Random graphic communication

I've been keeping watch lately for communication graphics without words that just show up as part of a day-to-day routine. It's actually trickier than I might have imagined to find them. A red octagonal sign at an intersection communicates "STOP" even before you notice the word printed on it... but the word is still printed there. Some of the nonverbal graphics I've been consciously aware are arrows (up and down buttons on an elevator. A severe bend in the road. More info on the back). I also will count the striped crosswalks painted at intersections; those have a pretty clear meaning without need for explanation. But I'm disappointed; it seems there would be more examples than that. I'm either seeing them but am so used to them that they are only registering subconsciously, or I live in such a small town that there just isn't much need.

There is one thing I remember from one of my previous jobs though -- it was in the pressroom, which was full of all sorts of big heavy equipment. One machine had a couple of huge rollers that paper fed through, and there was the silliest graphic stuck to it as a warning... it was a silhouette of a guy with long hair, and the hair was caught between the rollers. Silhouette-guy's mouth was wide open; I could practically hear the yelp. It was an effective graphic, I must admit, even though it would never win any design awards.

Who is using a contemporary iconography now? The search continues.