On Friday, after the Supreme Court recognized a constitutional right to same-sex civil marriage nationwide, rainbows sprouted everywhere — gay-rights celebrations nationwide, the White House, Niagara Falls, the Empire State Building, the I-35 bridge in Minneapolis, probably your Facebook feed, and even in the mist from the water cannons Turkish police used to break up a gay pride parade on Sunday. But how did the rainbow become the symbol for gay rights?
A man named Gilbert Baker designed a rainbow flag for a gay pride parade in San Francisco in the 1970s, and it stuck, Time explains in the video below. Each color originally meant something, and you can listen to Baker explain why he chose a rainbow below. Peter Weber
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