I found this fascinating: the Peace Sign, which we all take for granted as an icon, was designed by somebody, on purpose, to advocate nuclear disarmament:
"It was invented by a member of our movement (Gerald Holtom) as the badge of the Direct Action Committee against Nuclear War, for the 1958 Aldermaston peace walk in England. It was designed from the naval code of semaphore, and the symbol represents the code letters for ND.'"
Borrowed liberally from this site: Peace Sign History