Symbols surround us everywhere, from the heart emoji we send in texts to the complex iconography in renaissance paintings. They're the visual shorthand that lets artists pack entire stories, emotions, ...

CNET editor Gael Fashingbauer Cooper, a journalist and pop-culture junkie, is co-author of "Whatever Happened to Pudding Pops? The Lost Toys, Tastes and Trends of the '70s and '80s," as well as "The ...