We all know what traffic lights look like, right? Red light abovemeans stop, yellow in the middle and green at the bottom to let you know when it’s time to go. However, in one neighborhood in a New York townthat was overturned by Irish residents’ hatred of the British.
Tipperary Hill in Syracuse, New York, was a major site for Irish immigrants to settle in the 19th and 20th centuries. Coincidentally, that was also the time Traffic lights have become ubiquitous across America and the rest of the world.
The first traffic lights appeared in Tipperary Hill in 1925, with red lights at the top, yellow in the middle and green at the bottom, as popularized by Tricolor lamps debuted in New York in 1918. However, the red light above did not please the Irish people in the surrounding area, as the Irish Center explains:
The lamp was erected at the corner of Tompkins Street and Milton Avenue. Some young Irish men, known as the Stone Throwers, objected to the red “English” appearing above the green “Irish” on the lights and threw stones they called “Irish confetti ” to break the red. light bulb.
The children were between 11 and 17 years old, including John “Jacko” Behan, Richard “Richie” Britt, James M. “Duke” Coffey, Kenneth “Kenny” Davis, George Dorsey, Gerald “Mikis” Murphy, Francis “Stubbs” Shortt, and Eugene Thompson.
Former Onondaga County Sheriff Patrick “Packy” Corbett was also named as one of the Stone Throwers, but he would never admit his involvement.
To try and end the onslaught of Irish bougainvillea, traffic lights were hung upside down and this ended the attacks… for a short time. However, New York lawmakers were upset with the signal inversion and warned that it could confuse color-blind drivers in the state, so it was changed to The red light goes up again.
Unsurprisingly, that didn’t last long and The red light was broken for being on top again. People warn that just a red light above will destroy the signal. So on St. Patrick’s Day 1928, the city finally gave in and let the town hang its traffic signals upside down.
However, to this day, Tipperary Hill is home to the only red-green traffic light in America.
