World’s first electric traffic signal was installed today in 1914

The early twentieth-century intersection was a strange scene. While the world’s largest automobile manufacturer sold over 20,000 cars a month in 1914, horse-drawn wagons and carts still crowded the streets, and accidents became increasingly frequent.

To tackle the issue, world’s first electric traffic signal was installed in Cleveland, Ohio, on August 5, 1914, at the corner of 105th and Euclid. However, these signals featured only the red and green light, and the yellow light was introduced only afterwards. The doodle Nate Swinehart intentionally shows the jerky movement of the traffic to portray the true picture of the roads a century ago.

Today’s Google Doodle also looks back at the American traffic 101 years ago.