When walking around your neighbourhood, you'll inevitably come across spray-painted markings on the ground. While most people walk past them without giving them a second thought, others can't help but wonder what they mean.
It prompted one Reddit user to ask: "What are these symbols on the pavement? Woke up to find these outside. Neighbour said they were made by a man in a high-vis jacket. Any ideas?" But while some tried to guess what it could mean, others shared their concerns about it being a so-called burglars' code.
A few years ago, a burglars' code began circulating on social media which appeared to show that certain markings were a secret language for robbers. It claimed that five dots mean the occupants were wealthy or a large X or cross meant it was a good target.
However, police quickly dispelled this "Da Pinchi Code" and officers even released a diagram to show what the markings really mean. A spokesman for South Worcestershire Police said: "There is no actual evidence to link these symbols to anything other than completely innocent and easily explainable activities."
Despite this, one Reddit user shared an image explaining the 'burglar meaning' behind different road markings. They claimed: "According to this, there's either nothing worth stealing, or you're getting some new street lights." In response, another user joked: "I’d like a streetlight over my driveway so I’ve just marked the spawn point. Wish me luck."
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Others came up with their own jokes about what it could mean, with one saying: "Landing pad for a very small xenomorph spaceship." One more user added: "Drone landing zone for when they are spying on your rattan garden furniture from Aldi."
But while the burglar's code has been debunked, different colours do have different meanings. Red means electric wiring, blue is for water and yellow is for gas, oil or steam. Whereas, a white marking means it's a proposed excavation site or route. White paint is also used for workers to send messages to each other or reminders about where things need to go.
What common symbols like lines and numbers mean:
- Straight lines are one of the most common markings you're likely to see on the road or pavement. They show where pipes and cables are and the different colours mean different lines from water to gas or broadband.
- Numbers can mean anything from pressure to depth or how high the pavement should be after road works.
- Workers will often write out messages in spray paint but they also use abbreviations like L/P for low pressure or BT for the utility company.
- The letter R means the position of the pipes or cables has been verified by radar.
- A P means the positions are based on checks by passive electromagnetics.
- A group of circles indicates the number of cables within a duct below.
- This white squiggle above a line shows where roadworks start or end.
- Zig-zags indicate where a zebra crossing needs to be painted on the road.
- Hatched markings show where something like a box junction should be painted.
- Overlapping boxes means a cover or manhole is going to be moved.
- A circle with a cross in the middle shows where a lamppost will be placed.
- Two triangles show where a drop kerb will be fitted.
- An open box with circles inside shows where TV wire are running under the pavement, with the number of circles indicating the number of cables.
- A lock symbol means a manhole needs to be sealed.
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