Traffic Light

Hello there. I am a Traffic Light. I stand tall on the corner and watch the world go by. Long, long ago, the streets were very busy. Vroom, vroom went the cars. Clip-clop went the horses. Everyone wanted to go at the same time. It was so jumbled and messy. It was hard for friends to cross the street safely. A kind person saw this and thought, "We need some help here.". And that's when my story began. I was made to help everyone stay safe and take turns. I was a brand new, bright idea.

A very smart man named Garrett Morgan had the big idea for me. He was so kind and wanted to help everyone travel safely. He saw the cars and carts all mixed up and knew there was a better way. So, he gave me three beautiful, bright colors to shine for everyone to see. He gave me a bright red light. Red means "stop, please wait.". He gave me a lovely green light. Green means "It's your turn to go.". And he gave me a sunny yellow light. Yellow means "Get ready, slow down.". On a special day, August 5th, 1914, I was put up on my very first street corner. I was so excited to start my important job. I blinked my red light, and all the cars stopped. It was like magic.

Now, you can see me and my friends on corners all over the world. We stand tall in the rain and in the sun. Blink. My green light shines so cars can go. Blink. My yellow light shines so they can slow down. Blink. My red light shines so they can stop. This helps people cross the street safely. It helps the big buses and little cars all take turns. I love my job. It makes me so happy to watch over you and help keep everyone safe and sound on their way to school, the park, or home.