As far as roadside iconography goes, the big orange balls that flag ConocoPhillips (formerly Union Oil) 76 gas stations are not all that great: orange globes, lit from inside, some of which still rotate, painted with a blocky blue "76" outlined in white. But they are among the last of their gaudy breed, and now some faceless corporate image consultant has decreed that they must go. The orange spheres are being replaced by bland, liver-red disks, part of what ConocoPhillips described in its annual report as "the Oasis re-imaging campaign."

The purge began in the Spring of 2005, and has proceeded steadily and quietly.

The first orange ball was a 12-footer designed for the 1962 "Man in the Space Age" Seattle World's Fair. The last one won't be standing much longer. According to the pro-globe "savethe76ball.com" blog, all spheres must be scrapped by the end of 2007. Visitors to the blog are being urged to sign its "Save the Ball" online petition, and to tell the owner of the neighborhood 76 station, "If that ball goes, so does this customer!"

[05/20/2006]