Lynn Poole displays and discusses various symbols including: the skull and crossbones, horseshoe, swastika, barber pole, cigar store Indian, mortar and pestle, and chevron. Words can be symbols also. Latin, although not spoken today as a living language is still used in scientific communication. Latin began as the language of Rome and its vicinity, but through many conquests the Romans spread the use of Latin to the rest of Italy and what is now France, Spain, and North Africa. The Romans also conquered Greece, but since Green was also a highly developed literary language, the Greeks retained their own language. Latin also became the language of the Roman Catholic Church and medieval universities. Many scientific discoveries made during the Renaissance and the early modern period were given names in Latin. Even today Latin names such as Zea mays (corn) are used in scientific communication. Carl von Linné or Carolus Linneaus in Latin classified life forms in an orderly way using Latin terms. In his classification of kingdom, phylum, class, order, family, genus and species, a dog would be animal, chordata, mammalia, carnivora, canidae, canis familiarus. The Babylonians were fond of the number 60, which is retained today in 60 seconds in a minute, and 60 minutes in an hour, and even 360 degrees in a circle, which is 6 times 60. Weights and measures have been standardized so that they mean the same thing all over the world.

This program is about wordless language and is based on the book "Nonverbal Communication" by Weldon Kees and Jurgen Ruesch. Numerous photos and film clips show a series of nonverbal symbols, human movement, attitudes and emotions, social interaction, gestures, and art forms. Famous mime Marcel Marceau performs "Youth, Maturity, and Old Age." Also included are film clips from "The Little Fugitive" and photos from "The Family of Man" exhibit at the Museum of Modern Art. Sam Cobean, James Thurber, and Charles Stehling provide cartoons. Represented photographers include W. Eugene Smith, Hugh Bell, Ruth Orkin, Roy Stevens, Fred Plaut, Gjon Mili, and Robert Willoughby.