Episode Details

Daniel assumes police cars have always been black and white everywhere.

They have not. And the origin of the ones that are is murkier than most people expect.

Black was common on early American cars because it was an inexpensive factory finish. As police departments grew, the problem became recognition -- a dark patrol car blended in with civilian traffic. Departments began experimenting with contrast. Black and white police cars were appearing in California by around the early 1930s, though nobody seems to know exactly which department started it. There was never a national rule requiring it.

What spread the image was television. Dragnet put LAPD black and white patrol cars in front of millions of Americans from the 1950s. Adam-12 did the same through the late 1960s and 1970s. Television did not invent the black and white police car. It helped invent the picture of a police car in people's heads.

Police forces around the world use entirely different colors. The UK uses blue and yellow Battenburg markings. Germany uses blue and silver. New York's patrol cars are white with blue. Orange, California used orange and white before switching in 1991. There has never been a universal standard.

Black and white became useful because it was distinctive. Hollywood helped make it iconic.

What you will find in this episode:

• Why black was common on early American police cars and how contrast changed that
• Where black and white police cars first appeared and why the exact origin is unclear
• How Dragnet and Adam-12 turned a local color scheme into a national image
• Why departments across the world use different colors for the same basic reason
• The Orange, California detail that Daniel handles perfectly
• The closing line about what television actually did to the image of a police car

Short, surprising, and the kind of episode that makes every police car you see feel like a small piece of design history.

Listen, wonder, and learn.

[topic:history]