“Fans of Ota’s running man point to two key advantages: It’s a pictogram,
and it’s green. The sign’s wordlessness means it can be understood even
by people who don’t speak the local language. And the green color, they
argue, just makes sense. Green is the color of safety, a color that
means go the world over.”

—Julia Turner, The Secret Language of Signs, Slate, March 1, 2010.