Fact of the day

The 1928 Olympic Games in Amsterdam saw a number of important milestones, but one we still all benefit from today is revolutionising car parking. Like other cities around Europe in the late 1920s, the streets of Amsterdam were filling up fast with cars, and during the Games this issue was more pressing than ever, so organisers were forced to rack their brains in search of a solution. The allotted parking area next to the Olympic Stadium had room for a maximum of 2,000 vehicles, nowhere near enough to meet the demand during Games time. In response, the City Council provided a number of other sites that took parking capacity up to 3,500 vehicles and 2,000 bicycles. However, no sooner had one problem been solved than another was created: how were drivers and cyclists supposed to find their way to the new car parks? A solution was found in the shape of small blue panels with a white capital "P" in the middle. So it was that the international traffic sign for parking was born.