TechShop used to have a medium sized vacuum forming machine, but it was lost in one of their moves. Those are useful for tool trays. Lay down all the tools for some kit, vacuum-form a tray, and put the tray in a case for the kit. Often used in aerospace, where you want to make sure nobody left a wrench inside the engine or fuel tank.
I grew up seeing these signs all over and never gave them a thought. I love articles that bring something to my attention that I never thought to think about.
For other Australians, I'm not seeing that, and the article is totally SFW. It's all about the technology of signs for small retail & service stores in the 20th Century. I assume the comment above was a joke that initially went whoosh over my head.
Something about that rounded-rectangle shape is evocative of the YouTube logo - perhaps I was primed towards that as one of the signs shown is advertising "TV's".
I'm fairly certain that the YouTube logo, especially the original one, is meant to symbolize a Cathode Ray Tube (CRT) TV like this one: https://spencertified.com/cdn/shop/collections/Sears-Solid-S... (random example from image search). In times of linear TV, you'd ask whether anything was on the tube when you were wondering whether you'd want to watch something.
TechShop used to have a medium sized vacuum forming machine, but it was lost in one of their moves. Those are useful for tool trays. Lay down all the tools for some kit, vacuum-form a tray, and put the tray in a case for the kit. Often used in aerospace, where you want to make sure nobody left a wrench inside the engine or fuel tank.
[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lCvgvWiZNe8
Aside: If you are a sign aficionado the American Sign Museum in Cincinnati will make you very happy: https://www.americansignmuseum.org/
Comparing the US and the Netherlands - the US seems much more chaotic and organic than the Netherlands with its unified government standard typeface.